MAJOR PRODUCTION; CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS

The research that I have undertaken upon what a producer does during filming, illustrated how producers should have a hand in the marketing of the film. With our project, it was agreed in the pre-production stage that Katie, our editor, would handle most of the marketing for the film through the posters and social networking sites. This was great because it meant that our advertising was really visual, with lots of posters and teasers that she created. I had the idea, just to add to the advertising that Katie had already done, to create some posts that derive from our character profiles. I thought it would be good to tease the audience more about the characters in order to generate more interest around the film.                        

Marlo: Marlo is a young and intelligent young man. He has everything in life going for him, his education, his future career and his girlfriend of 3 years, Nova. As life moves on, Marlo's world begins to crumble around him.











Nova: Nova is the strong willed and loyal girlfriend of Marlo. She is kind and knows exactly what she wants in life, and will stop at nothing to achieve this. She loves Marlo with all her heart and wants to be with him forever.

Julie: Julie is the single mother of Marlo, he is her whole world and she will do anything for him. She is determined to help her son, she understands what he is going through more than he will ever know.










Mr Shipman: Mr Shipman is Marlo's year 13 teacher. He's the first to notice Marlo spiralling out of control and quickly takes action to help him to solve his problem,











I think that posting these, along with some stills taking from the film of each character, will just reveal that little more about the film, helping to further the buzz and generate more interest around the film. The aim of the sentences are to be short and snappy, in order to inform and engage the audience around the characters

                                                                                 

MAJOR PRODUCTION; FINE CUT EDIT 1

After seeing the previous rough cut, we sat as a whole year group to view the fine cut. So far, we were really happy with the feedback that we had received from both Beth and Simon in our tutorials. We felt that we were practically there in terms of the picture, we needed to just start adding more sound design and perfecting the grade. The main focus of this cut was getting the music right, we had a composer Brandon Sands on board to create the music for us, myself and Laura were keeping in contact with him to make sure it was all going well, and he got them to us in time for the deadline we gave him mid April. The feedback that we got from the rest of the class was as follows -

- Half of the film looks really nice and cinematic, some scenes do not quite match this 

- Really good cast

- Good access to locations (school etc)

- Great editing

- Music needs work in terms of placement

With this feedback in mind, myself and the rest of the group spent the next day in a lecture room trying to collectively sort some of the issues we had. We played it through a projector in a lecture room as this allowed us to hear the audio better, informing us to know exactly which sound aspects need work.  The first suggestion that I had for the music, was that we used a different song for the beginning. I felt like the first song that is played throughout the film is perhaps too sad/slow, I felt we needed something that was slighting more upbeat, something subtle that still fits in with Marlo feeling sad, but something that will be a stark comparison to the more sad and slow music that we will hear further on in the film. I felt as though this needed to happen so that the overall tone of the film wasn't compromised. Katie started this song 'The Walk' much earlier than it was originally and I think that this fit in much better. 

In terms of the audio issues we were having with some scenes sounding very echoey, Katie tried and tested different effects, changing levels many different ways whilst me and Laura gave our opinions as to what sounded better and what didn't. This worked really well, as eventually we found the right level that made the audio sound much clearer and more pristine. In the end there was only one piece of audio that we couldn't quite perfect, so we will need Angela who plays Julie, to rerecord and send us this file.

Overall, I am really happy with how our edit has come along. I think it stays true to the script and is a good culmination of everything we have worked on.

MAJOR PRODUCTION; ROUGH CUT EDIT

As the producer and writer, I was unsure of my place during the editing stage. Katie, as editor, would be using her research to fit the shots together in the best way possible, whilst Laura would be casting her creative eye over the film ensuring it is her vision.

I decided that for the edits I would try to just make sure the film was still authentic to our original message and research, I wanted to ensure that the tone would still be right. For the rough cut, I tried to focus on just writing down basic notes that I had. Simple aspects such as audio being out, because at this point it was more about getting the footage right before considering other detailed aspects such as music etc;

I thought it would help me to research aspects of producer works in editing. Whilst it was good I could get myself involved in making notes for each edit, I wanted to try and add more value to my role during the editing process. I found it quite difficult to source interesting guides and pieces of work that I could use to research, until I came across the title of - 'Post Production Producer'. 

Post Production Producers are responsible for the post production process, during which they need to maintain the authentic process of information and good methods of communication between the producer, director and editor. The post production period can be one of the most time consuming part of the production, so it can be very difficult and challenging. The post production producer will have to make sure everyone is communicating successfully to aid the project. Skills needed for this role

- Empathy

- Ability to make tough decisions under pressure

- Working to deadlines 

- Time keeping

- Motivation to work long hours

The post production producer can start work anytime on a production, dependent on the needs of the film. For example, they may start work during the pre-production because they are needed to liaise with certain third party companies regarding preliminary costs. During the post production, they keep the producer informed of the timeline, noting how they are keeping to the schedule as well as if they keeping to the budget. 

To further my research on this role, I tried to find a job description of this role, something that would outline the skills required and jobs involved: 

Whilst I am the overall producer and writer, I can take the skills from this role of Post Production Producer to add to my role. In lieu of this research, I thought I would set myself two objectives that would aid me in the editing process and get myself involved more, these will be: 

1) Set up a time every few weeks where the group and I can watch the edit together to discuss certain points, this will help with communication between all of us

2) As the writer, make notes and perhaps use the script, to make sure the film is authentically put together in a way that portrays the overall research and messages decided upon in the pre-production period. 

MAJOR PRODUCTION; RESHOOT DAY

As previously mentioned, we had to complete a reshoot day to correct some errors and scenes that we were not happy with. Our reshoot day took place on Friday March 15th, we had the following scenes to re-film:
- Scene 14
- Scene 17
- Scene 21
- Scene 22
- Scene 23
- Scene 24
- Scene 28

We had to re-film at 2 different locations, so as normal I planned the timings and sent the cast and crew the call sheets and schedule. Schedule for reshoot day:

The first set of scenes that we did, taking place in the house in Allhallows. These were quite easy as we didn't need to record sound (as we already had the original sound from the first shoot day), and it was all outside in daylight, so this worked really well. The next scene we needed to re-film  was the death scene. We needed to get the timing better of the car coming down the road and Nova stepping off of the pathway and we also needed to catch a more emotional reaction from Marlo. After a few attempts, we managed to catch this perfectly. The last set of scenes that we needed to film, was the memorial sequences. This was where we found our most difficultly, as we lose the light very quickly and it was difficult to light a pitch black area with LED lights. 

Overall, I am really happy that we re-filmed these scenes. I was happy with how the new ones came out and I am now confident that they match the calibre of the other scenes that we have filmed.  

MAJOR PRODUCTION; WRITERS PERSPECTIVE 3

In hindsight to the filming, when considering the reshoots, there was a few things as a writer that I needed to consider. The first was a new ending, we all felt that the ending was very flat and not as cinematic as the rest of the film, so we needed a new ending. At first I considered the idea that we could end on Marlo and Nova saying goodbye at the park, but I felt that the audience really should see Marlos bedroom. For me, Marlo's messy bedroom at the start of the film is a symbol of his life, it is representative of how Marlo's life has been completely messed up and turned upside down. At the end, the idea of seeing his now clean, tidy and empty room demonstrates the change Marlo has had in his life. He has accepted his life now and made a positive change to move forward. With this in mind, the new idea for the end to is keep it simple, have the clean room, followed by Marlo loading his stuff in to Julie's car (ready to move out) and have him and Julie drive away. Whilst I think this is a very generic ending, it feels right for the story that we are trying to tell, it shows the story come full circle as Marlo ventures off to his new life.

New Last Scene:

Secondly, Simon felt that we needed to see Julie one more time, demonstrating that she knows he is missing and is looking for him. I have therefore added a new scene before Marlo gets to the memorial. The scene entails Julie in her car trying to call Marlo and leaving his a voice mail. This inexplicably portrays the idea that Julie is trying to find Marlo and I think creates an intensity around her closing in on him, almost like a clock running out before she reaches him and he has to admit to his issues.

New Julie Scene: 

These scene additions are something I'm really happy with, the ending specifically is something I think helps to round the film off in a more round way. It is a lot more cinematic for us to have the car drive away outside into the landscape, than end on a line of dialogue in Marlo's bedroom. With these new additions, I also needed to make sure the script was up to date with the changes that we were making on the day. This involved Mr Shipman's dialogue, as well as the 2 scenes that we ended up improvising on the day. For the scenes that we had improvised, I have wrote a description in the script describing what they would have been talking about in the script. For example this is the scene that Marlo brings a bottle of vodka to Nova.

Finally, since filming, there are two parts of the script that we have decided to scrap completely. The first is the idea of having the figure speak to Marlo by the memorial. Once we had filmed this part it didn't look exactly how we thought it would, it came across as slightly cheesy and gimmicky. Also, it didn't have a massive impact upon, or bring anything to, the story. Secondly, we decided to scrap the idea of the pocket watch. For me, the pocket watch was a symbol of Marlo's father, because he died when Marlo was young, Marlo has always struggled with loss and death and has always felt like something is missing. Nova's death brings back and emphasis these feelings upon loss and struggling with death, the pocket watch was meant to be a reoccurring symbol of this struggle before it is revelled in one of the final scenes how Julie and her husbands last conversation is very similar to that of Nova and Marlo's. However, it didn't seem to come across like this in the film, it seemed very random and almost like an unanswered question that the audience was had. As we have such a definitive end to our story, it doesn't really make sense to leave anything unexplained and unknown in this way, so as a group we have decided we will scrap the idea of the pocket watch.

MAJOR PRODUCTION: REVIEWING FOOTAGE

2 days after we completed filming, we had a footage review. Put simply, all three of us sat and sifted through every clip we had filmed, matching them up to the specific scene and making sure that they worked. As a group we had to make sure we were happy with each clip, considering factors such as


- Lighting
-Acting/Performance
- Dialogue
- Framing
- Sound

As we were watching through, I was really happy with the quality of the camerawork that we had. I was quite taken aback at how clear and concise all of shots looked. On some of the shoot days, especially the ones that we did outside, we were slightly worried about how the lighting of the sky was affecting the shot. Obviously the clips always look different when viewing during an edit in comparison to the slight graininess of the viewfinder and I was really happy with how the majority looked. As we went through it because obvious that there was a few issues some a small amount of the scenes we had filmed, this was as follows:

Scene 14 - The coverage wasn't enough at the start of the scene, didn't have enough shots to show Marlo getting from one side of the garden to the other.
Scene 22/24 - These 2 scenes were filmed during the night, and whilst we had some lighting, they still appeared very dark, we and worked hard to prepare a memorial for this scene and personally I didn't think we saw the memorial clear enough to do it justice for the scene in the script.
Scene 23 - The reaction shots of Marlo were not working adequately enough, as the character had just witnessed his girlfriend being hit by a car we needed more of an emotional reaction perhaps with some more coverage.

These were the scenes that we knew we needed to re-film. As we had over 25 scenes to film I was quite happy with the outcome of all of this. I had another look over the budget and worked out that we had roughly £130 left. This meant that we were able to get our actors down for one more day and re-film! After liaising with all of the actors I worked out that we would be able to re-film on 15th March. This was the perfect time because it gives us around 2-3 weeks to make all of the necessary arrangements, it gives Laura a chance to rejig the scenes and make them work before the reshoot day and it is still in plenty of time for all of our edit deadlines.

MAJOR PRODUCTION: FILMING DAY FOUR

Day four of filming took place on Tuesday 18th February. This was our school shoot day, taking place at The Victory Academy in Chatham. I was really looking forward to the days filming, because I had put in a lot of work to get the location of a school that we were all happy with. At the beginning of the day I had to meet my contact at the school, who I had been corresponding with, she took me around to run me through health and safety for the day etc before everyone arrived. Whilst the majority of the filming was taking place in the classroom or just outside of, I was clear with everyone that I wanted everyone to stick to our classroom as a base, and only leave when we were filming outside. This was so we caused the least attention and disruption to the school on the day.

I got all of the cast and crew to meet me and Laura in the car park, the school is very big so we had to make sure that everyone knew where to go, we took turns walking them in and getting visitor badges for everybody. Filming was underway, it was quite an intense day as we had 8 extras, as well as our full group of cast members all for the first time. As the filming happened, everything ran really smoothy. Myself and Laura made sure the room was covered in our own posters, with the school logo that we had created. As we were only there for about 5/6 hours, I had set up a table with drinks and snacks on it for the cast and crew to pick on throughout the filming. The one main issue that we were faced with throughout the day, was the classroom had one window covering the entirety of the left side of the room. As we filmed the last scene of the day, we had to change the setting slightly and Laura had to change the shots she had planned. This was so we avoided the window completely as we didn't want to show that it was getting darker outside, as we needed it to be 11am.

What did I learn from Day Four of filming? 
- This day of filming reinforced the ethos of how important it is to meet your cast before you film and build up that relationship with them. This was our one and only day with Mike Kelson who was playing Mr Shipman, whilst the day was fine and he got on well with everyone, I think it perhaps would have made it all the more comfortable if we met him beforehand, as this was out last day filming everyone had already been with each other for a while and our morale was high to complete
- I was really happy and felt really proud of the location I had gained access for us to film in (this school) the location was great for all of our scenes and it went really well
- Importance of having extras was emphasised to me. I tried my best to advertise and get as many extras on this day of shooting as possible, due to the fact we wanted it to look like an authentic school. However, it was a struggle to get the perfect amount of people, so whilst it wasn't ideal, we worked with what we had. Also, after speaking with this group we hope to use the post production period to emphasis this picture of a school using sound design.

Call Sheet for Day Four: