Live Brief 2- Improving My Pitch

For the upcoming pitch I wanted to make sure that my presenting skills and overall pitch skills are improving from pitch to pitch, a major problem with my previous pitches is confidence and talking in front of people. This takes away from the pitch as if I can't get my words out its hard to make people understand what the idea is and get them on board. The skills I want to improve for upcoming pitches is public speaking and memorising and been confident in my idea, so I can pitch it passionately and have people more involved in it. I've made sure my powerpoint presentation is filled with the answers I have to questions at the moment, but when it comes to the idea, I want to pitch it from the top of my head, to know the ins and outs of the story well enough to pitch the film as if I just saw it and I'm describing it to a friend. I started looking online and watching videos about writers techniques and how to pitch an idea. A Hollywood writer and one of my personal favourites, Max Landis (Chronicle, American Ultra) has quite an open mind and talks and voices his opinions and thoughts online at his YouTube account. He's the son of director John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Animal House) and during a podcast discussed what pitching is and various ways to pitch successfully. The specific part of the podcast can be found and listened to here:

Max Landis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOgHtKpmbKI

During the conversation he talks about not allowing the person to become bored or disengaged and how that results in losing the pitch. You need to know and assess who you're pitching to and pitch in such a way that is suitable to them, maybe something there used to or something they've never seen before but are interested and seem to love. I've discovered that the best way to get someone on board is to infect them with your passion, to almost involve them in your pitch so they're following along, they're asking questions and making connections between points you're making, once they know the story and love it as much as you do, you've successfully pitched. If not maybe it's just not the right idea, maybe you try again with something new and fresh.

A method Max uses for when he's pitching is a beat by beat style, meaning not describing the whole story and boring the person, but describing the movie like you already saw it, so it's almost like you're selling your friends to coming to see this movie with you. This style helps and makes the pitch more chilled and personal, it takes away any nervousness or expectations of what the pitch can be and makes it fun and challenging in a new way. If you were pitching it to a friend, you wouldn't want to spoil or ruin the ending or certain parts, so Max talks about how you pitch the hell out of the first act, you don't discuss dialogue, you still pitch the plot in order but it's "Loose" and loose is good.

Marc Zicree Pitching- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6Lc-_tSN1c
Marc Zicree Breaking into Hollywood- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xo3F5rPqXA

In another video, writer/producer Marc Zicree discusses the art of pitching and the rule of 3 when pitching professionally, this is interesting when it comes to breaking into the industry and how to make friends and professional relationships with higher ups and the people that can help you progress with your work. He talks about knowing the people who can help you and talking to them and not pitching to them the first time, to build a relationship first because they're tired of hearing pitches and ideas thrown at them all day at work. In another video the same writer talked about having professional screenwriters read and give notes on your work and not just teachers or screenwriting guru's who may have never sold a script before, it's important to have people who work in the business and have experience to kind of mentor you and progress you in your writing style and career. This is good knowledge to have about screenwriters and the business for when entering the industry.

Live Brief 2 - Producing a Pitch

Once I got my general idea for a short film out the way and detailed down, I'm able to think about a pitch and a method for pitching it. The synopsis is the basic outline I'm going to use to talk about and get my pitch across, and allows met to talk about the full story and reveal any hidden surprises or twists and explain the full story. I'm going to open with this so people no the idea and hopefully they'll be intrigued or on board. After that the next slide in my presentation is going to be a mood board of all influences or inspirations, this is going to show characters, shows and films that have used something similar to how I envision the project. This will mainly focus on shows that have successfully captured the tone I would like to use and characters that have similar and effective methods to how I folded mine. Television shows like Breaking Bad, Mr Robot and True Detective have played a big part in the development and unfolding of the story and writing process. After I've added more depth to the story and more detail for people to understand, I'm going to introduce the film festival I want to enter and why I think both the festival and the short film or suitable for each other and would provide a high success chance for screening. Through research and checking I landed on a festival called the British Independent Film Festival, which seemed to offer both a suitable category in which similar pieces of work have strived, a realistic deadline that is manageable and achievable and also has the screening before the module ends, and also not extremely costly. I think not only my short film but also other students ideas for short films may fit nicely in this festival.

After providing details on the festival, I will be moving on to suitable and local locations where to shoot. The film takes place in one area which helps make it more manageable and easier to organise but its still all about finding that one location, I provided a list of a few possibilities to show there are plenty of options out there if it gets green lit. After locations is a focus on the characters and details to use for if we cast them, just short details like age and features, to show they should be easy to cast and plenty to audition when it comes to it. The final slide in my presentation is going to discuss clothing for the characters and props used in the film, this is to make the tutors comfortable knowing that I've thought of what we need and that it all seems manageable and achievable in the time we have to get them, many of the props are quite common in films and we can use from previous productions, some clothing will be asked off by the actor playing and if they don't have any, they can be found and provided for them, this is just to save any money in the budget that could go to paying actors and transportation. Hopefully my presentation will go smoothly to the rest of the class and that the idea is universally like or interesting enough to gain interest for the production. I understand that the piece relies on a lot of dialogue and is not overly ambitious or out there but I feel it's something that would require a lot of thought and quality behind it and would produce a tight quality final piece, but I fully understand if it doesn't get picked, as there is a lot of great ideas circulating the class which could provide a greater challenge than mine.

Live Brief 2 - Quick Synopsis

Opens to a shot inside a small café/restaurant, it’s fairly busy but we’re focusing on a table in the center. Two men are seated across from each other, face to face.

The first man is smart, his appearance is of wealth, he wears a suit with a very traditional haircut, he’s sat up straight, he means business. His intimidation fills the room.

The second is closer to a boy than a man; he’s early 20’s and is uniformed in a hoody and jeans. Despite being in the presence of the first man, he is suspiciously confident and calm. He too is smart.

The first man, Alastair Franklin is sat with a device of some kind (Laptop maybe) with the ability to input numbers, in front of him. He wants Matthew Anderson to input the code, as he is the only one who knows it. He tries intimidating Matt and a conversation ensues, Matt claims to not know the code but its clear he does. He also claims he’s trying to help people.

Alastair then declares that if he wants to play the hard way, he can play the hard way. A suited man nearby talks over comms ‘Bring him out’. A young man around the same age as Matt is forced out of a back room and thrown on to a chair at the same table as Matt and Alastair. Alastair’s men clear the café/restaurant. Matts face is shocked, as his best friend Thomas Mann is right in front of him. Matt begins reassuring Tom that everything is going to be okay, while Tom is freaking out, he tells Matt that they have Becca (Matts Girlfriend). Alastair has one of his guys tie Tom’s right hand down to the table, he gives Matt one more chance to input the code, Matt inputs a random code that fails, calling Alastair’s bluff. It’s explained that Alastair’s company handles a lot of the digital transfers of funds for banks and large business; Matt has hacked the company and planned on transferring the money to those who need it. Alastair has a sharp knife brought out to him. Matt and Tom begin freaking out and Matt and Tom are both held down in their seats by Alastair’s men, Alastair in one clean swipe, cuts off one of Tom’s fingers. ‘You got nine more chances before I run out of fingers’

Matt apologies again and again to Tom, while Tom is almost collapses in shock from what’s happened. Matt begs Alastair to stop and continues claiming he doesn’t know the code. He inputs a two more codes in that don’t work to demonstrate it. Alastair pulls out a gun out of his jacket and shoots Tom in the head.

Alastair’s men remove Tom’s body from the room. Matt becomes angry with tears in his eye, screaming at Alastair. Matt admits he knows the code and that it was his hack and plan, and how he’ll never give it up because of people like him. Alastair suggests trying this again and has Becca brought out and thrown down on the same chair as Tom. Matt begs for her life. Alastair presses the gun against her head. Matt gives in and says he’ll input the code.  He puts the code and it’s successful. This gives Alastair’s company back control to reverse the hack. Alastair takes the device and his men, as well as Becca and starts to leave. He takes Becca as insurance until the hack is completely reversed. Matt argues and kicks up a fuss but is restrained by Alastair’s man. Matt manages to take a gun from the man and shoots him in the stomach while hiding behind him, as the rest of Alastair’s men turn around and open fire. Matt manages to jump and hide behind a booth but is now trapped. He pulls out his phone and looks to be hacking. All the lights in the café/restaurant (and maybe the block) turn off. The blackout allows Matt to escape from the booth, and multiple gunshots can be heard. The lights turn back on and everyone is dead except Matt, Becca and Alastair. Alastair has Becca hostage with a gun pointing at her. Matt has a gun pointing at Alastair. A conversation ensues about both of them walking away but Alastair shoots Matt in the head and then shoots Becca dead as well. Sirens can be heard in the background and Alastair walks out of the Café/Restaurant and fleas the scene.

Live Brief 2 - Short Film Idea

Developing short film ideas has always been a struggle for me, because I feel like i'm condensing and squeezing the entire plot of a feature into a few minutes, and details and scenes always seem to be left out and the story lacks because of it. I've started to take a new approach to short films, and that is thinking of stories as episodes. Television episodes can be 20-30 minutes and their stories are always quick and to the point, so now when ever I think of short films, I think of situations and circumstances that everyday characters can get into, like sitcom shows etc. My newest idea for a short film is quite dramatic and has the potential to be quite long, so I tried to apply the episode method and come up with the idea of shooting the end of what would be the script. To focus on the conclusion and finale of the story and use a cold open to throw the audience into this world and have them discover the story throughout.

The story centres around a young computer hacker, who has grown up poor and uses his skills to intercept large digital fund transactions from a large business. His plan is to take the money and give it to the poor, a Robin Hood type character. The film is going to cut in on a cold open that takes place after the hack and theft of the funds. It takes place in one location at a cafe/diner type restaurant and has the hacker and a high up executive at the company sat across from each other at a table. The story is going to be about the confrontation and the executive trying to get the money back, there will be smart and intelligent dialogue as they discuss whats happened and how its right or wrong, both growing up from different backgrounds, theres quite a friction between them. Once he realises the hacker won't give in, he has his friends brought in and used to intimidate him with the threat of torturing them. The hacker as the dilemma of sticking with his cause and doing what he believes to be the right thing, or saving his friends.

I want to be able to develop my writing of dialogue and thats why this idea will have plenty of back and forth between characters. It will always benefit whoever is on sound for the crew, as we've never really had a production that has had this much dialogue and that heavily relies on it. It will also be good for the director because the quality of the performances is what will carry and intrigue audiences throughout the story. I'm hoping to create a tense and intimidating tone like shows such as Breaking Bad and True Detective have been able to capture in their episodes.

Live Brief 2 - Learning Agreements Introduction

The new module of Live Brief 2, gives us our introduction to the learning agreements. These are written and completed at the start of a new project, and are similar to us writing our own project brief, allowing us to be specific in what we intend to achieve. It also helps us learn and understand how we will be assessed, and the aims and learning objectives that we should have in mind and be following throughout the projects duration. A successful learning agreement should help you identify what you want/need to focus on and highlight issues you'd like to overcome, it also helps with planning and gathering sources for research which will come in helpful during pre-production.

A main focus of the learning agreement is proposing your idea and synopsis for the module, and been able to plan out and develop what will be happening when. This improves and establishes an efficient time management skill, and provides yourself and your crew a schedule to follow and keep to. With the learning agreements been negotiable, it gives a more personal feel and allows for certain students to learn more of their speciality instead of the whole class learning the same thing, students can now help and teach each other areas that the others may not know. This specific brief is centred on producing a short film and entering it into a suitable film festival, therefore the learning agreement needs details on what the short film is about, how you intend to achieve it and what you hope to learn, as well as a film festival you can submit your work into and details of the festival, submission fees and dates.

The learning agreement will most likely change and develop throughout the first week or two of the project, while we're pitching and figuring out what roles we will be occupying for the short films, but we're going to start filling in and writing the agreement as if our idea is going to be green lit. This can be later changed and corrected once the pitching stage is complete and certain details are definite. I've started adding to and filling out my first draft of my learning agreement, so the tutors can see brief idea of the idea and path for the project, and can keep up to date and give advice on changes and point out mistakes in my work. Before work can be fully started on our productions, we need both our tutors to sign off on our learning agreements to make sure its completed professionally and is to the standard of quality that is expected from our level at our stage of education. Then after the learning agreements are completed and signed off, we can now follow and execute the objectives and schedule organised within the agreement.

Filmmaking- Music Usage

Since the start of the project I was determined to find and gain permission to use a high quality and professional styled song in the final edit of the Go Outdoors edit. I didn't want to have to use any copyright free music or some track from Audio Network because it wouldn't fit the style and tone of a commercial and I would prefer for this to have a professional look and feel, and that also incorporates the sound. The sound benefits the presentation and shows that it's more than just a project or a students work, its a commercial.

I had a song in mind that fit my vision and I felt would go well with the final edit. This song was called 'Shadow of a Man' by Neulore and I got in touch with the bands manager to ask for permission about using it in our commercial, the response back at first was positive as he seemed more than happy to give us permission and said there wouldn't be any push back from them. Unfortunately they were not okay with the song been used on an edit and then been uploaded to sites such as YouTube. I needed to be able to gain full permission for the song or it would be no good at all. I got in touch with the studio that licenses Neulore's songs and received a sheet back to fill out about our production and what song we'd like to use. I filled out the sheet accordingly and e-mailed my response back, unfortunately I heard no word back after this and was forced to find another song.

I began searching the web and looking on websites were I could get an appropriate music license for the production. I came across a website that feature this new band that was just starting off and I listened to their album. I found this song called 'Back To You' that I thought felt like the tone of the advert and would fit in well with the footage we had shot. Instead of applying and paying out for the music license through the 3rd party website, I got in touch with the band and the bands manager directly to enquire about using the song. They were very happy to be involved and gave me permission to use there track in the production after I explained what it was for and what was happening with the content. I also able to get a signed contributors license of the band for the song, saying they give me permission to incorporate it in the video. I'm very happy with the final choice of song for the edit and think it works well with the message and idea the advert is sending out to it's audience.    

Filmmaking- Sound Editing

When it comes to editing, the editing of the video footage seems to be the obvious and most prioritised task but in fact sound editing is just as equally as important. For the Think! shoot, there was many sound effects as well as background music to sync up and attach to the final edit. For most of the sound effects I was able to use Jamie's foley work and synched them up to the edit so it flowed well as a film. There were some secondary sound effects that were found online and either copyright free or paid for and they were included in the final edit also.

For the beginning shot in seemed very quiet and was missing something key that was holding it back, I suggested looking for some ambiance music and so we searched online for the right sound for the video. We found a great sound file that was ambiance sounds for a town/city, and had the right sounds to match up with our edit. The majority of the edit is played to two different music files. The first is a swashbuggle/pirates of the Caribbean styled song which was cut and edited twice into the edit, and the other is more of a western/cowboy themed song for the end shootout, which was used 3 various times and cut together to build the end tune. All of the selected and recorded sounds worked well in the edit, and after seeing the final edit with and without sound, it benefits greatly and is enhanced with the sound.

I researched into the broadcasting standards for sound and volume and found this document stating the official broadcasting sound regulations:

https://www.cap.org.uk/CAP-and-BCAP-Consultations/Closed-consultations/~/media/Files/CAP/Consultations/AnnexAofevaluationnewTVadsoundlevelsrule.ashx

It states that the sound level should be no higher than 6dB and I back and changed all the sound files individually, to make sure that the peak of the sound and music does not cross over the broadcasting regulations. This also helped in making the edit sound better and helped defined certain sound effects more having all the sound keeping to one level.  

Filmmaking- Critical Evaluation

Critical Evaluation – Filmmaking

The filmmaking lesson started back in September 2015, where we were given the choice between creating a piece for NAHEMI KODAK COMMERCIALS AWARDS, or develop our own idea or project individually or as a team to fulfil the brief. The whole class seemed very excited about entering a competition and creating a commercial so that became the focus of our time. Once we received the briefs for the commercial awards, we reviewed them and all went off to create pitches of our own for the briefs that we were interested in. I and Drew had a similar idea for the THINK! Brief so we combined our thoughts and created a joint pitch with the help of John who also had a pitch for THINK! That would work well with ours. John helped combine them all together and created a presentation for our pitch.

I also came up with a separate pitch for the Go Outdoors brief called ‘Go Together, Go Outdoors’; I wrote up a quick treatment and presented it to the tutors and class. The consensus was fairly positive so I continued to develop it into a script, and began research into how we would go around producing this. I then re-pitched and it was chosen as one of the four commercials to get the green light, along with the Think! Idea.

The crews were then assembled and split up evenly, there were four commercials to work on so everyone was working on at least two crews, some even worked on three. The crews I was involved in were:

Go Outdoors-

·       Mikey Barker- Director

·       Simon Douglas – Producer

·       Glenn Wilkinson- Camera Op

·       Dan Whalen- Sound Op/ Co-Producer

·       Steven Brown- Editor

THINK! –

·       Drew Brockbank – Director

·       John Hartill –Producer

·       Simon Douglas- Camera Op

·       Jamie Gibson- Sound Op

·       Mikey Barker – Editor

With the crews all together we could begin to move forward as a unit and work towards our goal. I continued developing the Go Outdoors idea and sketched up storyboards and drafts of the script, as well as lists of props, clothing and actors that we will need, for the producers to look into. Camera Op and Sound Op began testing the equipment to be come comfortable with it for the shoot, as well as working on their secondary commercials with the other crews. After I planned out the main story and had a visual image of how the end product would look, I started researching into a variety of locations that would be suitable for our filming needs. I managed to compile a list and we visited each location to see if it met our standard and would be appropriate to film on for our specific dates without any problems. Pretty quickly we started gaining permission and signed location release forms for multiple locations but some we found difficult to achieve access to or the owners would want money in exchange for access which we didn’t have in the budget. We had hit on obstacle at finding actors for our characters, and we found more and more time going by and us still not finding success. Poor time management from myself and the producers started to cause problems for us, as we raced closer to the agreed shooting date of November 21^st & 22^nd. We were a matter of weeks away from shooting and were still scrambling to find props, a few locations and to lock down some actors.

The pressure of being ready for the shoot started to affect everyone, and pushed people to starting getting work done. Thanks to Steven and Simon, I was able to get in contact with Gaynor, a teacher over at StarStruck, a stage school for children and teenagers. Gaynor cooperated greatly and helped us fine actors for our roles. Together we organised a time and date for auditioning the four actors she had lined up for our roles. Together, Simon and me went down to their stage school and auditioned the four actors, each one seemed suitable and more than capable at fulfilling what we needed from them. With four out of the six main roles casted, we began to make progress on the production; all that was left for casting was to find our Evan and Cassidy as adults. Dan posted a application on StarNow looking for local talent and Simon did the same on the Facebook page Four Bridges. At this time we were also gathering props, we were able to borrow an old 80’s/90’s girls chopper bicycle of our tutor Diane for the shoot, and some tents from fellow classmates. I was in touch with a man who could provide us with fishing gear and agreed to meet at the location on the shooting day. We managed get permission for all the locations after me and Simon contacted councils and authorities for certain ones, but got all the release forms signed. The shot was a matter of days away and we were still struggling to find our last two actors, every response back from Dan’s initial application did not fit the profile we were looking for. I jumped on StarNow and looked through all the profiles of local actors and actresses, I messaged and E-mailed the ones who were suitable and hoped one of them would be free on such short notice, Simon phoned a male actor about the role who was interested but already busy on the day we wanted. All but one of the actresses I messaged were busy, and Jacqueline Davis was both free and interested, I arranged for her to be part of the shoot but we still had no actor. Drew, who was volunteering by been a runner and transporting equipment and crew, stepped in and took on the role. Simon and I gathered last minute clothing, props and food for the shoot.

The shooting days went very smoothly and we were able to keep on schedule even with the lack of pre-production in some areas that had me nervous. We were able to get to all locations on time and had plenty of time to both set up equipment and film the shots. All the actors involved were lovely to work with and cooperated great and were very understanding of issues we had with the shots. Due to Glenn directing another shoot, his primary attention was focused on that and I wasn’t sure how much research or how much understanding of the commercial he had, but he arrived to shoot with a shot list and the storyboard and was really easy and comfortable to work with. Glenn made me feel comfortable behind the camera as he took his time setting up the shot and making sure everything was to a high standard, unlike other camera men who I have seen rush this process. He also wasn’t afraid to tell me if something wasn’t working or if he had suggestion that would benefit the shoot so having Glenn on camera was one of the highlights of the project. Daniel was on sound and we weren’t too sure if sound was going to make the edit or if it was just going to be music playing over the top of the film, but Dan managed to capture certain Foley sound here and there when the wind and the weather would allow it. Simon was great on set at helping move and set up equipment, as well as making the actors and the children’s parents comfortable and up to date with everything that was happening. Drew was a huge help on set with transporting certain crew and the equipment and also standing in as our actor last minute, he was good at helping me keep the crew focused as well as keeping morale up among us.

When we received the rushes back for editing, I was quite pleased and impressed with our some shots turned out, as well as a little disappointed with certain shots that they didn’t turn out as I intended. Steven did a good job at going through and finding the useable shots and editing together our final edit, he managed to stick with the script and storyboards to collaborate the shots together, with the help of my guidance when I could offer it as I was also editing the Think! Shoot. I was only editor on the Think! Shoot but made sure I was on set to help out and to prepare for any problems I could foresee happening in the edit. Drew did a great job at directing and keeping everyone focused and working on the set. The only problem we had was with the weather and we had to film on two separate days. This was a problem for my edit as some shots were in the rain and others were in the sun, I did my best at colour grading to find a balance but it was still noticeable and tricky to work around. We managed to finish a final edit of the advert and Drew and myself were both satisfied with the end result.

Overall I think the project had many errors and faults that were due to time management and in some cases cooperation. I wasn’t sure if my producers lack of work in the early stages of the project was due to me not cooperating well or them waiting for someone to do the work for them. Pre-production was the most stressful part of the project but everything else ran smoothly and I’m happy with. I think we were able to capture what we set out to get and the edit is a good representation of how the treatment presented it. In future productions I will definitely work on time management and not wasting time in pre-production, as well as getting the crew together more often and having them communicate better. 

Filmmaking- Editing (Go Outdoors)

When we received the the 16mm rushes back, I was delighted with the quality and standard of the Go Outdoors footage and that Glenn's work as Camera Op was effective and the time we spent getting the shots was worth it. I was comfortable knowing that our Editor Steven would not have too much trouble editing the shots together. Unlike Think! the Go Outdoors edit doesn't require too many special effects if any at all. It's quite a basic cut and assembly of a commercial, except for an appearance from the logo and tag line in the last shot of the edit. Due to me editing the Think! commercial as well, I had to run back and forth between the edits to keep an eye  on how the process was going. Steven started by looking through the rushes and eliminating any of the shots that are unusable or just not up to the standard for the advert. I later reviewed his choices and agreed and with the use of the storyboard, the script and my guidance, he began editing together a first rush of the edit.

We had certain problems keeping the commercial to 30 seconds as multiple cuts had it running over, there was also some problems with shots where they just didn't blend well together or there were little looks towards the camera from actors. We were flicking back and forth between which shot to use for the 'walking as a family shot' and tried multiple cuts to see if it works, eventually I came to the decision just to use the still static shot to get the family in frame and save some time in the edit for later where other scenes could now be stretchered to fit in the final cut. I found some music for the commercial from American band WILD, the song is called 'Back to You' and I felt fit perfectly with the love story and family aspect of the advert and was able to get permission to use it after contacting the band via E-mail. Steven cut and got the song to fit in line with the edit and made sure it ran for 30 seconds. The last step Steven needed to do before completing the edit was color grading the shots to give them a consistent look and feel, Steven was pretty confident in this area and I believe has had experience color grading, so this was not a problem for him as he finalized the edit. Once the edit was complete, we watched it back again and again to make sure it was the best it could be, that it ran for 30 seconds and that there wasn't anything we left out that could've improved it.

Overall I'm happy with the final cut and pleased with the outcome of the edit, knowing the lengths we went through during the shoot. I feel like the edit has been cut well together but maybe the story has been lacking a little and that we maybe didn't get enough shots to make it seem time was passing and that this was a family and not a string of random people doing outdoor activities.       

Filmmaking- Editing (Think!)

When all the footage for our 16mm commercials came back I was extra interested in Think! to see how the quality turned out and if any special editing would be needed when it comes to post-production. I knew been the editor on this production that I needed to be ready and see any problems in advanced because time is precious in the edit suite. There were certain issues with the film footage for think such as certain shots having the camera cover in shot and having crew and extras in the frame which ruled some of these out for use in the final piece. I knew I could crop certain clips down to make them usable and I did for one clip specifically to remove some crew from the shot. Another issue I noticed and was prepared for was the noticeable weather change, It's very obvious the change in day and needed work and colour correction to cover up but still will not go by unnoticeable. 

I started in the edit suite by going through all the clips with Drew (Director) to see which ones he liked and which ones we thought were unusable. We narrowed down a nice collection and these would be the clips we would use to edit the final piece. Early on I wanted to get the special effects and graphics out of the way so I started there and began working in Adobe After Effects on the opening shot. What needed doing was to place the Think! logo and the giant white wall in shot which the character walks along, I found the highest quality and most updated version of the Think! logo and with some YouTube tutorials, forum advice and some guidance from Lee, was able to use a tracking effect and some image stabilizer to get the image to follow the wall and not move with the camera. It tracks a specific point and stays with that at all time, so even when the actor walks or the camera pans, the image stays in one spot. This took numerous attempts and goes to get this right and it still isn't quite perfect, but me and Drew are both satisfied and comfortable that it blends in and serves it's purpose. 

The other effects that needed adding to certain clips were the text message designs that pop up throughout the advert, as he's texting his girlfriend while he walks. This meant that only in certain clips would be need the text bubbles to pop up. Drew had pre-designed these graphics and had them available for me to use. We carefully selected the clips that would need the text bubbles added to them and opened them again in Adobe After Effects. Once importing the graphics, it was a matter of keyframing text bubbles to follow the phone as our actor walks and increasingly get larger and then smaller and fade out of the screen. I had done similar effects before in college so moving and changing the opacity of the graphic was simple enough to complete. 

We added some text to play on the last shot with our tag line to end the advert and I used the tools in Avid to resize certain clips by cutting off the edges either horizontally or vertically with the re-size effect. The biggest effect that needed to be applied was colour correction, to all the clips to give it a consistent look. This was one of my biggest worries because in my experience I've never been able to make colour correction look correct or work, it always seems fake to me. I've seen instances where people have improved their work by using it but I can't quite get the same effect. We started experimenting with the colour correction tool in Avid and managed to find some common ground in the clips and find a colour effect that both adds to the sunny clips and the rainy clips. It is still noticeable the change and weather and if we had more time before the deadline, i'd spend it all on colour correction but Drew is satisfied that this is the best we can do for the moment, likewise am I. The overall cutting and editing process went smoothly apart from a few shots that we found hard to match up because of continuity issues but we were able to edit around it, not perfectly but enough to hide the mistakes that it doesn't ruin your experience of the advert. We added sound effect for some of the guns and also some copyright free music for the intense shootout scene, the rest was Jamie's (Sound Op) foley work and a third party that John (Producer) got in to beatbox over the final edit. Overall I'm happy with the result of the edit, I believe we salvaged everything that was of good quality and improved and made work the clips for the edit, I know and understand the certain improvements that can be made and mistakes that we could correct next time, but I find the piece to be an enjoyable little advert that works well.

       

Filmmaking- Go Outdoors Shoot

The 'Go Together, Go Outdoors' shoot was the production where I was director. My crew was built up of Simon Douglas as Producer, Dan Whalen as Co-Producer and Sound Op and Glenn Wilkinson as Camera Op. Prior to the shoot I was very nervous as many things did not seem like they were coming together, but surprisingly on the day of the shoots everything ran smoothly and went in our favour. The shoot required a lot of different scenarios and outdoor shots which meant us travelling to various locations. Drew Brockbank helped out greatly on the shot by being a driver, a runner and then eventually also starring in the production as well.

Day one of the shoot was all organised and produced well but I still had nerves and worries about the weather ruining our filming and what to do if none of the actors showed up. Our first location was Carlton-in-Cleveland and our job was to film the shot of the two child actors, one on a bicycle and and the other chasing behind. We arrived on time for the shoot, managing to keep up with the call sheet and schedule, and all the actors arrived to the shoot on time as well. We were able to set up the equipment very quickly and talk and direct the child actors what I need them to do for the shot. During setting up it began to snow, not too heavily and there was no wind accompanying it and due to its lightness it wasn't effecting our equipment at all, it looked lovely through the lens of the camera but stopped snowing as soon as we started filming. I would've loved if we were able to capture that shot while it was snowing just to see if it would've been better or worse, it also would've helped with the brief of going outdoors in all weathers, that way we could've shown a variety of weathers. The first shot went very smoothly and took a lot less time than we expected and planned for, just for good measure we got a variety of the first shot so we had options, as it felt almost too easy at the start and a bit unnerving.  The second location was not far from where we were and it was Carlton Bank, we travelled a little further up the road and up towards Carlton Bank. We were ahead of schedule and felt a little more relaxed with taking our time to make sure we get the best shots, It was freezing cold and had signs it was going to snow again, we asked the actors to wait in their cars so they could stay warm while we set up. We set up as quickly as possible in the cold and began filming our shots, the coldness had everyone rushing but Glenn (Camera Op) knew exactly what to do with the camera to get the best looking shots and I'm glad he didn't rush through it and took is time preparing the camera before shots. We managed to capture the shots at Carlton Bank looking out at the view and I was pleased with how uninterrupted so far's shoot was going. Dan (Sound Op) was also trying his best to capture sound, I wasn't sure if any of it would make it into the final edit with music playing over the top but it was good to have as back up. Due to us finishing the morning shoot earlier, it allowed us to grab an earlier dinner and then to buy us more time, setting up the camping equipment and tent before the teenage actors arrived.

The original plan was to have multiple tents dotted around but we had some failure with certain tents missing parts and were unable to include them in the shot. We had one tent that would set up fine and this was our main tent for the characters to be in. We had some seats and a guitar to try and populate the frame, and Drew and the idea of grabbing one of the BBQ's on the location and moving it into our frame as we were on a camping site. Altogether through the lens it seemed very packed and we had built a fairly quality environment/set for the shoot to take place. We also needed to set up the the track and dolly and made sure we were on flat land, we had some complications with the track as certain pieces were unable to join with others. We did the best with what we could and when the actors arrived, made sure we were ready to start filming. We did quite a few practice shots without filming to make sure the pacing of the track was right as well as the framing. We got a multiple shots of the track and dolly shot as well as a variation with a different lens which was more of a wider shot than the original. Once we were done it concluded the first days shoot and we were able to pack up an prepare for tomorrow shoot.

Day two was more unorganised than day one and we were working with an actress we had never met before. We were using less equipment on todays shoot which made it easier for transporting and all the locations were around Hartlepool. We started off at Summerhill Country Park where we were going to film the proposal shot. Weather had improved quite much from the previous day so we were in luck. We had to use Drew as our stand in to play Evan as we ran out of time trying to find an actor, Jacqueline arrived slightly late due to traffic which helped us as we needed more time to set up for the shot. Once she arrived we quickly began filming to jump back on schedule and tried to make up for lost time. There were three different shots to capture and Glenn understood and was able to get all of them smoothly. The next scene was staying in Summerhill but moving to a path, we had the child actors arrive on time and we were able to continue filming. The shot I had planned for was proving to difficult from Glenn to handle as it was a moving shot and he warned me it may not look good on the screen, for safety we agreed to get as second shot that was still as a back up so we had options down the line. We then gave the cast and crew a dinner break while I went to talk to the owners of the horse stables down the road to give them a heads up we'd be coming down soon. The woman at the stables was super helpful and organised a horse for us to use, it was for a simple shot of the mother and daughter stroking a horse and we grabbed a couple of the shots to be safe and then moved on. The final shot of the day and the production was at Seaton Carew for the fishing shots. I had agreed for the man bringing the fishing equipment to meet us at a certain time but we were running ahead of the call sheet and had extra time where the cast and crew could have another break, they all decided to grab teas and coffees inside The Staincliffe Hotel. Once the man arrived he began setting up the fishing rods and stands and we were able to grab the last shot of the production. It was three different shots and angles and we managed to get them all before we lost the light. I was quite impressed with how the production went, and surprised how smoothly it went even with a few errors and flaws in pre-production. I was very proud and happy with my entire crew including the cast, and was satisfied with the filming and production of the commercial. We heard from the parents of the child actors about working with us again if anything else comes up, as well as Jacqueline who said she had tons of fun working with us. I was very impressed with Glenn's skills as camera op and he made me much more comfortable on set by helping me understand how he was getting the shot and raising suggestions and not afraid to tell me if it didn't work and we needed to do it again. Overall I thought the shoot was a success and I would definitely work with this crew and cast again.
        

Filmmaking- Think! shoot

The first of the level 5's shoots to take place is Drew Brockbank's Think! shoot. This is the advert that me, Drew and John came up with and presented to the class to see if it was worthy of been in production. I wrote the script for this advert and I am also the editor for the shoot so I made sure I was on the shoot and didn't miss anything that would come back and haunt me. I also helped out as a runner on the shoot by driving the actors, crew and equipment to the location and played the role of the robber in the advert as well. The shoot on paper is quite a busy production and on set it showed, with the amount of crew and extras/actors involved in the commercial. John who was the producer did a good job at keeping everyone organised and getting everything to run smoothly, the only thing that was out of his hand which could disrupt the shoot was the only thing that went wrong. The weather on the day of the shoot started raining about 1/4 through. John had already canceled a previous day of shooting before as the weather forecast rain. Fortunately Drew managed to get some of the important and busiest shots down first, which included swordsman having sword fight in the shot. We tried to film through it but the rain just kept getting worse and we were forced to abandon the shoot and leave with what we had.

John quickly rescheduled another day for shooting and made sure everyone was available, the shots of the swordsman was already complete the so the first day was far from a failure and it meant we'd have more time to focus on other shots on the new day. As editor my only and main concern with this was how noticeable the weather change will be on camera if the weather is drastically different on the new day. Drew and John were aware of this problem but understood they hadn't the time to reschedule again and start from the beginning and that I was to do as much colour correcting in the edit as possible to help ease the blend of the two weathers. When it came to the second day of shooting the weather was sunshine and very much noticeable from the rain we had on the first day. Time management on the shoot was done and kept very well and once we were all on set the shooting ran smoothly and we were able to get multiple takes and keep rolling on to the next shot. Spirits and morale was higher with the weather been nicer and all the costumes and props looked crazy and out of place just like they were supposed to. I knew because the majority of the filming was taking place on the day with the sunshine, that there would only be a few scenes with rain in it and that it would be best to try and make the rainy shots fit in with the sun other than vice versa. The only complication we had during the shoot was a complaint from a man who lived in the area and near the estate who wasn't happy about the shoot taking place and the usage of prop firearms in our advert. John had gone through the proper procedure of noticing the authorities and the council and gaining permission for the shot to take place her. We understood his complaints but we needed to get the shooting done to stay on track with the schedule and he was starting to become harassment. Eventually we were able to get him to leave and continue on with the production.

Overall the shoot ran smoothly and Drew was able to achieve all the shots he wanted and then some, the crew performed well together and had a great synergy going on to get the work done. Jamie who was on sound had complications been able to record sound due to the heavy winds but will be able to make up for it in foley. Simon was nervous at first but with the help and guidance of the crew he gained more and more confident with using the film camera and managed to achieve the shots Drew wanted. Im optimistic for the editing knowing how smooth the shot went and how the footage should look when it comes back. I know there will be work on colour correcting the edit to do and there is also the placement of a logo on a wall I need to include in the advert which can be done in After Effects. It was one of the most enjoyable and productive shoots I've been on in a while.

   

Filmmaking- Level 6's Shoot

The third years/Level 6's are also competing in the Kodak Awards this year with us, and their chosen advert was to be the Think! brief. They organised a shoot called Ya Think! that was set during WWII and featured prisoners escaping a camp, while the german soldier on guard was distracted by using his phone. The filming took place at Heugh Battery, a historic museum on the coast of Hartlepool and Seaton Carew. The level 6's enquired about me and Drew helping them out on shoot by been runners, as we can both drive and easily help with transportation of crew, actors and equipment. The shoot was scheduled for two days but due to bad weather, it was extended to three days and I was able to help out on all three days of shooting.

The first day was a night shoot at Heugh Battery and me and Drew along with Gavin (Level 6 director) were the drivers and made sure everything and everyone was where they needed to be on time. The shoot took off with a rocky start as more time than expected was spent setting up and dressing the location for the shoot. The whole crew participated in moving this sitting shed that was to be used as a prop but too much time and effort went into moving it and it took up too much of the shooting time, the prop didn't fit where the crew wanted it so the movement of it was abandoned and then started focusing on getting the shots in. Once everything was set up and running smoothly, the shoot rolled without any faults, me and Drew helped set up what was needed like the lights and the track and dolly, and during the shoot me and Drew operated the lights to have this quick fading to brightness effect to give the illusion of bombs dropping in the distance.


The crew did well at lighting the set as it was a night shoot and almost complete darkness with no other lights around than the ones we brought. The weather was also harsh but the crew was able to work through it and complete the first day of shooting, but were disappointed with the few amount of shots they got, meaning they would have to make up for it in the second days shoot.

The second days shoot started during the day and focused on getting the day shots straight away, we filmed on a street that was situated in an abandoned housing estate, which gave us privacy when filming from pedestrians but didn't stop the odd driving instructor on a lesson from passing through every now and then. Once everyone was on location and the equipment was ready, the level 6 crew began filming their actor in the middle of the road on his phone, he was then going to get knocked down in the next shot which would look much more effective after some movie magic was applied. The filmed the car driving down the road separately and then edited both shots together to give the effect the car hits him, since Gavin was directing I was the only other driver on set and took the role of driving the car down the road while the crew filmed it for the shoot. After we got all the day shots, we were able to have a break before continuing on with the night shoot in a few hours. Unfortunately once we got all the actors, crew and equipment to the location for the night shoot, the weather changed drastically and began pouring down with rain. We waited it out to see if it would stop or if there would be any change in the weather but it got to the point where the rain continued and we were wasting time, It was unsafe to set up lighting equipment and to use the film camera in this weather, so the crew decided to pack up and reschedule the shoot for another day.  

After rescheduling the shoot and moving it to a third and later date, the finishing shots were achieved smoothly and the shot was a success. There was no weather obstructions and due to previously filming on this location before, it was quicker to set up and pack away which saved time meaning more filming. The crew were able to call a wrap earlier than expected and had captured all their necessary shots as well as some back ups and some experimental shots. Overall the shoot was a success and a nice insight into a level 6 shoot. It taught me some lessons that I can apply to my own shoot and also showed me what to do and what not to do in certain situations. Even though the crew were faced with certain complications, they had fore seen some things happening and allowed a back up date for filming which made it easier to deal with, when those complications happened.