Editing Session: 1

This editing session took place on the 15th of January after school between 15:00 - 17:00pm.

Being our first editing session we first of all needed to put our footage onto the Mac and open it in Final Cut Pro, creating a new project where we can drag and drop all the shots into a timeline. We previously already uploaded the majority of the footage on Wednesday, however we still needed to film one more shot, which didn't take long, it was just that we had to wait for the actor to have time to film.

Sam Warren began editing by putting all the raw footage in non chronological order as this is the chosen method we decided our trailer would be in, showing different parts of the narrative all jumbled up. We chose to do it this way as it follows the conventions of most British Film Dramas and doesn't give away too much of the films narrative, being sure to not ruin the experience. Once all of the shots had been placed in the order we chose in the storyboard I then started adding transitions between the scenes to make it seem more smooth and fluid between them, instead of just abrupt cuts.

James thought it best that we place the title screens on at that moment in the correct positions in default text until we have completely decided on the font that we are going to be using, so it is quicker to change the next time we wish to alter it.

Sam finished off the session as me and James needed to leave for personal reasons, by editing the sound on some of the shots and cutting moments out where we were directing. Some of the points where we were directing have not been cut out as it involves acting in the shot and we are going to place music going over the ambient sound anyway.

Editing Software Being Used

This year as with last year we are continuing to use Final Cut Pro X to edit our trailer together using the shots we took with the Canon Bridge camera. The reason for choosing this software for us is convenience and experience. Each member of my group used it extensively last year, having never used it before in our lives, and gained lots of experience with the different functions, adding a plefera of transtions and title screens improving the quality drastically. However, as we were not as well versed in it as we are now, the quality was not as good as it could have been and there are many areas that couldve been improved. In light of this we now have more advanced knowledge of the software that should make editing less time consuming and mean we can get the most out of what Final Cut Pro X has to offer. This year we will make use of the feature that controls the speed at which the shot occur and include more filter effects to shots that warrant it, to help out trailer meet conventions of a British Film Drama and make our trailer stand out from the rest.

Filming Day: 5

This final filming session took place on the 14th January, between 3:00-5:00 pm. We managed to film the few shots we had left that involved the settings of a cemetery and Shaun's house.

Conveniently our main cast member, Tom, has a car and so we were able to get the filming done a lot quicker within the time frame we had due to the sun setting a lot earlier at this time of year. Once school had ended we made our way to Sam's house to allow our actor to get changed into costume and also film an important shot in the doorway of Shaun's house. We initially had the idea of getting sugar glass and using it to smash over an extras head, to give the act of violence a more realistic effect. However, due to budget and deadlines we were unable to order the sugar glass online for this shot. As an alternative we decided to use a real beer bottle and choreograph a violent movement of the bottle towards the criminal enforcers face, which would then transition to the next shot in the trailer. Since our extras were unavailable Sam volunteered to be the criminal enforcer since it was his house and he could get changed into costume to play the part. I started this filming session off by filming a low angle from behind Shaun, who's face to face with a criminal enforcer and reaches for a beer bottle to defend himself. The fact that the bottle is initially positioned on a shelf next to the door shows that Shaun does not want violence and is trying to distance himself from it but is prepared to defend himself if need be. 

James Scott followed this low angle shot with an over the shoulder shot of the assailant looking towards Shaun in the doorway. This shot consists of Shaun hitting the criminal enforcer over the head with a bottle of beer demonstrating how far Shaun will go to defend himself and what a few months on the street has taught him. 

Once this shot was completed, which took a few attempts as Tom was unsure of how fast and hard we was supposed to swing the bottle at Sam, we then changed location to a cemetery in Hale where Shaun was visiting the grave of his recently deceased mother. This took a while to find as Tom was unaware of where the cemetery was at first but with mine and James's guidance we finally arrived just as it was about to get dark. This sort of worked in our favour as it gave a more grim and dull looking aesthetic ,which helps to convey Shaun's grief and sadness in this scene as well as connote feelings of sympathy from the audience. We thought it best to use a grave that was related to one of us to make be more respectable and not film a random persons dead relatives grave, so I suggested we use my great grandmothers grave with the permission of my family. The first shot we filmed was done by Sam, which was a wide shot of Shaun walking to his mothers grave, showing all the surrounding graves. This was done to show the theme of death that has recently surrounded his life and also allow for some foreshadowing to show where Shaun could end up. This was followed by Sam filming a low angle, close up shot of Shaun's face to show the sadness of losing his mother, one of the people closest to him. This helps show a softer side to the character and that he is not completely a bad person. 

Lastly, Sam filmed a close up shot of the rose rested on his mothers grave, that allows us to see a slightly blurred background of the rest of the cemetery and Shaun walking away with his hood up until he is out of view behind the rose. This red rose helps to connote the common theme of blood and death in British Film Dramas. The rose also helps to signify romance and hints at it being extremely significant to the narrative path of the film.

Since our Filming is complete we will now begin editing and adding in transitions, filters and sound effects to improve the quality of our trailer and meet its purpose of getting people interested and hyped for the film.

Filming Day: 4

As we forgot to film an important scene that takes place in school during day 3 we needed to finish the school filming today finally. The purpose of this scene is to show Shauns aggressive and violent personality, by his physical altercation with another student in a corridor. Sam filmed both shots in this sequence. One being a wide shot of Shaun hiding behind a corner of a wall waiting for another character to pass by. This shot took a few takes as we needed to postion the actors correctly and give keys for when they needed to complete certain actions as they couldn' see each other being blocked by a wall. We needed to make it look fast and fluid to seem more realistic and so Sam operated the camera whilst me and James signaled the actors to move.

The next shot was changed last minute for a better option but originlly was supposed to be a two shot of Shaun and the other character up against the wall from the side to show Shaun punching him, however we couldn't make this seem realistic and we didnt want them to make contact with each other incase of injury. Luckily James proposed the idea that Sam stand against the wall giving a point of view from the victim and Tom should punch towards the lens of the camera, or the victims face. Tom was unable to punch fast or accruately enough and so we got him to do it slower and we will speed this shot up during editing.

Filming Day: 3

Filming day 3 took place on the 11th of January 2016. This was only a short filming session that took place down an alley at the side of  the school. In the narrative this scene takes place when Shaun is returning home from school one day, and its where he is first introduced to drug dealing.

Sam Warren started off the filming with a wide pan shot of Shaun entering the alley where the drug dealer is standing, hood up against the wall, hiding his face in case any one he knows notices him.  The only problem with this shot, like a few others, was pedestrians walking passed whilst we were filming, which just required us to wait a few minutes. The reason for waiting was because they were captivated by and paid too much attention to the camera, which broke the fourth wall.

I followed this by filming the next shot, which was a two shot of the drug dealer and Shaun. The drug dealer blocks Shauns path as he makes his way down the alley. I made the error of starting filming too early and giving the signal for the actors to go, which doesn't give us enough room to edit around so we decided to re-shoot.

James continued on with the scene filming an over the shoulder shot of the drug dealer asking Shaun if he has it in him to work for and live the life of a dealer. This shot probably took the longest to film as we needed to wait and stop recording everytime the actors started laughing. Tom, playing Shaun, had trouble remembering his line in the next over the shoulder shot that Sam filmed but eventually he got it and with this we wrapped day 3 of filming.

Filming Day: 2

Filming day two took place on the 8th of January 2016, and our objective was to complete all scenes within the Sixth form area. This filming session consisted of three different scenes which we all took part in filming.

We began filming by asking Tom Chapman, playing Shaun, to bring his school folders to the class room we were filming in to show how much of hard worker he was before he got involved with a bad crowd, and that he still is, trying to get his life back on track and make something of himself. Sam Warren filmed the first shot, being a birds eye view, over the shoulder shot. He did this by standing on a table and extending the legs of the tripod out for maximum height. We thought that this could been seen as Shaun's recently deceased mother looking down on him, in some way influencing him to do well. The next shot was filmed by me, which was a low angle, mid shot showing his emotion of pure concentration on his face and work ethic. For this shot I needed to get as close to the ground as possible and tilt the camera slightly in order to get the upper half of Toms body. Once we had finished filming in the class room we packed up and moved on to a long hallway location to film the drug dealing scene. We got the help of Adam Burgess to play the extra being dealt the drugs from Shaun in school. For the props in this filming session we used a £10 not and some tissue paper made to look like a drug pouch.

James started of by filming the first shot in the hallway, which was a tracking mid shot of Shaun from behind, looking over his shoulder where we can see another person walking towards him from the other end. We decided the shot would be a lot better if we started filming before Shaun walked into the shot so you could see the other person at the end of the hall and then him walking towards him to show they have something between them. 

Sam Warren filmed the next shot, which was also tracking but a low angle shot from the the front instead of from behind. The low angle shot makes what is going on seem more shifty and wrong as we are looking up at two menacing characters. This shot also allows us to see what Shaun pulls out of his pocket, but just for a couple of seconds to make it seem like it shouldn't be being witnessed by anyone. Its imperative that we didn't break the 180 degree rule as to not confuse the audience with character positioning.

I was next up to film, and filmed a two shot where the two character converged in front of the camera and then keep walking by after the drug exchange is made. I used a mid shot here to show the upper halves of the characters bodies, so we could witness the exchange. James then filmed a similarly positioned shot that was more zoomed in to give an extreme close up of their hands with drugs and money in.

Lastly. we finished day two of filming by staying behind after school with actors Tom and Anna, Shaun and Sarah, to shoot the last scene which was made up of a two shot and low angle shot. Sam Warren filmed both of these shots, whilst James Scott and I directed each of the actors individually. The two shot shows the audience the end of a conversation, which will be used to narrate part of the trailer and shows how much of a difference Sarah has made to his life. The low angle, close up of Shaun's face that occurs after the question shows the mental battle with himself he is having and how confusing his life is. The main problem filming this scene was that our actors found it hard to not stop laughing due to the intimate positioning of them together, but in the end we managed to get it.  

Font Research

Magazine Cover - Ancillary task idea 1

 

Poster - Ancillary Task Idea 2

Poster - Ancillary Task Idea 1

I have been inspired to create a poster for our film similar to that of the Green Street Hooligans poster that I previously analysed as part of research for my groups product. I have an idea of a location with a cracked brick wall where I could position cast members in a squad like formation, showing the gang mentality of British Film Dramas and the key role gangs play in our film narrative. The wall type background provides me with a good surface to place additional information about the film  on in post using editing software. This information would be release date for the film, names of main actors and any other things I can add to make the film recognisable in the British Film Drama. The problem with this type of poster is getting the camera to focus on everyone's faces equally so they are recognisable and fitting all important characters into the shot. The other slightly less disruptive problem is the fact that the place I would like to get the shot might be busy and loud depending on the time of day. I would film later in the evening, however due to how dark it get outside early I can't get the shot too late and need to find a time suitable for all the cast members included in the poster.