Captain America: Civil War - Review

*warning, this review may contain mild spoilers!*

Today I went to Sunderland to watch the new Captain America film. I didn't go to Hartlepool as 1) no cool popcorn buckets 2) the only 3D times they had was early in the morning or late at night 3) I wanted IMAX. Well, I thought it would be in IMAX but when I went they were showing it in "master image" idk if that's the same thing???

Anyways I got my limited edition bucket and cup, and also brought along my Cap 3D glasses I won one time. 

But the cup didn't fit in the cup holder in the seats as it was square. They haven't thought this marketing strategy though.

I was very glad I saw the 3D version as it wouldn't have had the same impact in 2D. Some bits were especially scary in 3D though and added to the whole 'suture' or multiplex experience of the film. Especially my favourite scene, the helicopter fight. It was so tense and the debris was very scary in 3D (I know it isn't real but I still flinched)

https://marvelupdates1.wordpress.com/2015/11/25/russo-brothers-reveal-details-on-captain-america-civil-war-trailer-scenes/

The fight choreography was superb in the film. However, the film was mostly composed of fights. Yes, I know it's an action movie and everything, but the details why they were fighting was mostly glossed over, to make room for more fight scenes. 

http://www.dailysuperhero.com/2016/03/captain-america-civil-war-behind-scenes.html

My favourite fight scene was probably the one just between Iron Man, Cap and Bucky. It was intense, well edited (maybe a bit too fast as I didn't know where to look at times and what was happening) and had a good backstory to why they were fighting. I loved this plot twist and added more depth to the fights.

http://giphy.com/gifs/captain-america-civil-war-the-winter-soldier-NxbAtqOgNmtUs

I found that humour in the film was lacking, which was a bit upsetting (again this was probably cut to make room for more fight sequences). The funniest bit was probably Iron Man spitting out some malt loaf. But Spider-Man, Ant Man and Hawkeye were 1000% sass and that was just as good. I love how Hawkeye is a fully developed character and had a strong back story (probably stronger than the other Avengers!) I was also very happy with Spider-Man, but when I first saw him, I was a bit 50/50 about the actor and found him a bit annoying. But hey, Spider-Man is annoying I guess! And he grew on me.

http://moviepilot.com/posts/3888099

Overall, a great action packed film. Not to be watched for dialogue/scripting but for the fight sequences. This is a big statement for me to say this but Civil War is the best film with (most of) the Avengers in so far. I know I'm a big Loki fangirl and Loki isn't in this, but I loved all the heroes (well, most) coming together and how they got on. 

8/10

Allurement Editing - What

Today we continued editing. This was our last scheduled editing day, but I managed to get us some time next Wednesday to import the magic battle (which we can edit in the base room as they have after effects on it) and a little bit of time on Friday to export.

It took Jamie nearly all day to edit scene 5, 7 and 9 due to all the continuity issues and us only having two shots that were usable (actors fluffing up lines or bad camera work). Shaun managed to get a few on his camera but we have only just received them, so we can see if they can work on Wednesday.

We spotted a few more continuity issues such as us breaking the 180 degree rule in scene 5 (we still have to use the shot though as it's the only close up we have!) and also Gartha walking backwards and forwards at different times in both shots (this was a nightmare to edit and should have been avoided in production).

Brad then sent a message the group chat saying to come to the base room ASAP and it was worth it.

At the end of the day, we have a visual skeleton edit done! We just need to focus on the SFX and the audio now. (and maybe look at scene 20 to correct it as I quickly edited this and Jamie wants to tweak it)

Edit Tick List

• Scene 1 - EXT. OLD FIELD DAY. WHY MUST WE FIGHT.
• Scene 2 - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY. DAY. POTION MAKING.
• Scene 3 - INT. LERYSA'S BEDROOM. DAY. HUMMING/BOOK.
• Scene 4  - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY DAY. POTION MAKING CONT.
• Scene 5 - EXT. FIELD. DAY. SPELL CASTING.
• Scene 6 - INT. LERYSA'S BEDROOM. DAY. BURP.
• Scene 7 - EXT. FIELD. DAY. FAILED SPELL.
• Scene 8 - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY. NIGHT. FORUM.
• Scene 9 - EXT. FIELD. DAY. INGREDIENTS. 
• Scene 10 - EXT. LERYSA'S STREET. DAY. FLOWERS.
• Scene 11 - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY. NIGHT. GARTHA SLEEPING.
• Scene 12 - EXT. OLD FIELD. DAY. MAGIC BATTLE. SFX NEEDS DOING.
• Scene 13 - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY. NIGHT. GARTHA WAKES.
• Scene 14 - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY. DAY. FIGHT RESEARCH.
• Scene 15 - EXT. LERYSA'S STREET. DAY. WHY FIGHT???
• Scene 16 - INT. LERYSA'S BEDROOM. DAY. MONTAGE.
• Scene 17 - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY. DAY. MONTAGE/OUIJA.
• Scene 18 - EXT. FOREST. DAY. MONTAGE/INGREDIENTS.
• Scene 19 - INT. LERYSA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. COFFEE/MONTAGE.
• Scene 20 - INT. GARTHA'S STUDY. DAY. VOICEMAIL. (needs correcting)
• Scene 21 - EXT. FIELD. DAY. PICNIC.
• Scene 22 - INT. LERYSA'S BEDROOM. DAY. IBIZA.

Skeleton visual edit has been completed! We need to add the magic SFX for the battle and fix the audio now.

Allurement Editing - More Continuity

We are making really good progress with the edit despite our limited time in the edit suite and the level 5's being distracting, not wearing headphones, making us all listen to weird demonic noises.

We noticed a few more continuity issues which SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPOTTED IN PRODUCTION. Jamie is a trooper editing each bag out of shot, etc. But should not have happened. If something is in shot, the camera op should speak up.

We finished the montage first to put us in a good mood and looks amazing! Then we started from the beginning of the script. There was a few continuity issues with the actors as well as props, such as June's hands being different in each shot, and also binoculars in shot when they shouldn't be. We have decided not to crop them out as it effected the symmetry and the quality of the shot. There's also a few brightness issues/continuity problems so we have tried out best to fix them (still looks a bit weird but we can't get it any better). The transition between Gartha looking at Lerysa into the next bit of dialogue ("either way" into "I need to drink this...")

While Jamie was editing, I started making the credits and finding fonts for it. I made it using Hitfilm (free software from the online course Lee told us to enrol in) as I knew it would be very time consuming and we only have 3 days to edit. I loosely followed this tutorial but I didn't have the particle effect, so I saw what I could use on there. 

This one works really well

This one worked well with Gartha's name credited but was too time consuming to do it for each character.

This is the finished main title. 

Nathan Vose also made us a song for the film, which would fit best during the credits. However, it might not fit the feel of the film. I would still like to use it as it was made just for us and Nathan worked hard on it. 

Jamie called it a day, so I took over for a few of the scenes which didn't require much editing and finished colour correcting. 

Tomorrow is our last proper day of editing and we still have a lot to do! We need to start scenes 5, 7, 9, 10 and finish scenes 4 and 14.

Problem Solving/Continuity

Today me and Jamie noticed a lot of continuity problems when looking back at the footage. Some of them can be fixed, some can't. It is also too late to reshoot anything (as there is only 6 weeks in a module which isn't enough). I also know that professionally, some one is in charge of continuity so this won't happen again in the real world. This is a learning experience. We now know that someone needs to be constantly watching out for continuity issues. (red means the problem, green means it's fixed, and orange mean's we are trying to solve it) Here is a list of all the problems and how we are fixing them:

• Nathan wears his beanie in one of the shots, and not the others - we have filmed 'Nathan' picking up a beanie. If this effects the pace of the film, we could always take out the shot before where is not wearing the beanie ("nonononono" (scene 10) and also the spell casting scene (9)) and take it as given he puts on a beanie between scenes. We have decided to cut our June's part in scene 10 due to the beanie shot as it effects the whole film, and we have decided it is not a major scene for him.
• Jo wears her shawl in the wide of scene 22 but not the close ups - it is too noticeable to keep the wide so we have just had to use close ups. It's an intimate scene! :P
• Dialogue varies a lot - we have tried our hardest to work around this. The visuals look fine, but we need to fix the sound and atmos so it's smooth. All fixed, we tried our best with what we had. 
• WE ONLY HAVE 3 DAYS TO EDIT - Modules should be staggered so the edit suites aren't fully booked out and busy. We managed to book out a day and a half next week which should hopefully be enough. We managed to book out some more time and able to do the SFX downstairs in the base room. We are currently making good time.
• Out of focus camera shots - we have done a few reshoots of the vital out of focus shots, but some have a few continuity issues (see shawl problem)
• Jittery pan shots - this happens a few times. Once for a montage scene where we tilt up to see a love heart but it isn't smooth and looks awful. We will have to cut this out. And again for scene 11 where Gartha is tossing and turning in bed. We have intercut it with scenes of the battle so it looks smoother and also more dramatic. 
• Bags and boom poles in shot - Jamie has edited these out in post, but they should have been spotted in production and moved.
• Gartha types too fast and the only shots we have, have the forum on screen when it takes her a while to search - we have tried taking another screen grab with fast typing but can't seem to speed it up. We also don't have a close up of just Gartha's face. We have done our best to work around this and cut out unnecessary pauses in the screen grab and keep the dialogue. I like to think it works well.
• Scene 2; Gartha looks at camera on only good tilt, binoculars in shot when they shouldn't be. Gartha poors an obviously empty cup, Gartha flicks her hair different ways, June holds his hands differently - we have edited around these. Time consuming (should have been spotted in production!), but complete.
• Scene 5; we break the 180 degree rule - we are working on this. We might have to cut out the CU of Gartha that breaks the line. I didn't like the wide lots though as June is taller than Gartha. We have decided to keep both in and break the line as the shot is nice. 
• Scene 7; Gartha moves backwards and forwards different ways in each shot. We also only have two shots of this scene (a CU and a wide) - this is a pretty big issue. Jamie is trying his best to edit around it, even if that means using mostly close ups or more of one shot rather than another. We only have two shots as Nathan was demanding that he needed to go home so we panicked and rushed to get the next scene done. We have edited around this, which took up most of the day to get it exactly right. We have decided to only keep the wide, which isn't ideal, but the CU's are completely unusable due to continuity.

In an ideal world, we would have had more time to fix these issues, but we didn't and we had to improvise and edit around them. 

Allurement Editing - Symmetrical Continuity

Today me and Jamie were in the edit suite until late due to us only having 3 days booked out due to a very busy editing suite with each level wanting to edit at the same time. We are focusing on the skeleton edit now, and hopefully to fine tune on Friday 6th before deadline (and edit the magic battle on the base room computers on after effects).

We had a few technical difficulties on the morning and couldn't edit until after 10. In the meantime, we tried doing a title for the film/credits. I had an idea that Allurement could be spelt out with stars, like a magic spell. We tried following a tutorial but it was impossible to draw the word Allurement, and looks too similar to the show Bewitched.

http://allretrogifs.tumblr.com/post/132424540886

We have a lot of continuity issues (more about this can be found here) such as bags and boom poles in shot which have been edited around thanks to Jamie's mad skillz but should have been avoided in production. Ethan needs to speak up!! 

The tracking dolly shots looks amazing and was worth all the cuts and bruises, but the slider would have been much better to carry (still can't get my head around how one group had it all the time, and we had it no times). The symmetry for the mid shots are also great and looks like one continuous shot. Even though the sun shines and dips a lot, it works to our advantage: Gartha is in darkness and Lerysa is in light. 

For scene 10, we intercut Gartha sleeping with XCU's of the battle to make the pan look smoother and to also add dramatic impact. We made the cuts go faster and faster as Gartha tosses and turns and looks great as a result. 

One big continuity issue is that Jo wears her shawl in the wide of scene 22 (the end dialogue scene) but not her close ups. It is too late to reshoot anything (as there is only 6 weeks in a module which isn't enough) so we just had to use close ups (hey it's an intimate scene!)

Jo also dropped in today to see how editing was going (sadly we didn't have much to show her) but she seemed happy with the progress!

Post Production: Action Plan

Our film is officially in post production! Even though me and Jamie will be camping out in the edit suites, there is still so much to do!

• Tuesday: film Gartha's exterior and also the beanie continuity problem
• Pick up form from Summerhill
• Evaluations
• Foley List (Connor should look for spell sounds online!)
• Create a poster (not essential but would be nice!)
• Blog!

Allurement Day 4: Filming

Director: Sarah Maher
Producer/Stills Photographer: Shaun Hunt
Camera Op: Ethan Turley
Sound Op: Connor Welsh

Today was the last day of production. Things were off to a dodgy start when we all ended up at different train stations to get to South Hylton. Me and actor Nathan arrived on time and Shaun was there to greet us, but the others were an hour late. 

We started with the field/spell scene as that was most important, and we did all of Nathan's scenes first as he was in a hurry to get back. We tried the 360 pan shot we tested out but we couldn't do it due to the sheer mass of people on shoot, the amount of equipment, and also the bumpy terrain. 

Today was the first time I saw the house Shaun suggested for Lerysa's exterior. It wasn't amazing and I was after a garden full of flowers (the noisy neighbours and dogs were also a problem). Plus I've also just noticed the bins that don't look very good, in shot. But the owners of the house were very nice! They even fed us bacon sandwiches (mushroom sandwiches for Jo!)

PLEASE DON'T DOWNGRADE US FOR CONTINUITY WE DID NOT REALISE JUNE WAS WEARING A BEANIE I WAS INSIDE AND WE HAD TO RUSH AS THE ACTOR NEEDED TO BE BACK! We are going to film something next week that's just 'June' pulling out a beanie out of his pocket. Yes, we know he's in a hurry and more than likely, the lectures will say "why is he putting on a beanie when he is in a hurry". Well he might be extremely cold, or we are just fixing continuity issues. Either or.

Ethan was complaining a few times (Shaun: "are you ok?" Ethan: "I guess I'll have to be") or just being a bit rude. 

Apart from that, today went well! Some good looking shots (I love the CU of Gartha holding up flowers). Roll on the edit!

Missing Shots

Missing shots that we need to do on Sunday (last day of filming):

• June on the other end of the phone call (scene 13)
• Field/spell scene (scene 5, 7 and 9)
• Lerysa exterior (scene 10 and 14)
• ~Don't forget atmos!~
• Lerysa's exterior on its own, no actors
• Gartha's exterior (needs doing sometime next week)

Nathan has to be back in Sunderland for 4 so we should do all of his scenes first (13, 5, 7, 9, 10)

Allurement Day 3: Filming

Director: Sarah Maher
Producer/Sound Op: Shaun Hunt
Camera Op: Ethan Turley
Stills Photographer/Hard Drive Looser: Jamie Jones

Today we did all the shots of June and Gartha in Gartha's study today and also some reshoots in Lerysa's interior (mostly close ups). We also wanted to do the field/spell scene today but I didn't quite realise how many shots we needed for all the dialogue scenes, so we focused on them and we will probably do the spell scene on Sunday. 

It all ran smoothly, June is a great actor and was very professional and friendly on set. We have some great bloopers from today (but also great footage too, of course)! 

I catered everyone again with cold pizza and sausage rolls. But some actors and crew ordered food in. 

We had a small argument for who was going to take what equipment. Most people couldn't as either the car was full, couldn't make it to shoot, and we didn't want to burden the actors with it. I could not have managed the tripod as I have quite a few props to bring, I could just manage the camera bag. Ethan said that he was going to take the camera home, even though I just said I wanted and pretty much had to as I didn't want to break my back. I also have to change quite a lot due to buses being a Sunday service and me having loads of bags. Even my Mam said she would come to shoot just to carry the tripod as Ethan didn't volunteer to take it! Eventually Ethan said he would take the tripod bag (he's a healthy lad and can manage it- we have proof he can run on camera!) 

Jo came at 4pm to do reshoots at the house we were using for Lerysa's interior. Most of the wides were usable but we had to reshoot the CUs. Jo also brought us a few travel brochures to film, to foreshadow travelling. Even though it would have been good to have them for the shots, we didn't include them in the wide, so there was a continuity issue. (I also noticed a continuity issue of the binoculars in the first shot we filmed when they shouldn't be. I will have to flag this up with Jamie)

Yup, all went well, all on time. I hope Connor will be with us on Sunday for at least one filming day. Roll on Sunday!

Allurement Day 2: Filming

Director: Sarah Maher
Producer/Sound Op: Shaun Hunt
Camera Op: Ethan Turley
Stills Photographer/Bee Keeper: Jamie Jones

Today was the rescheduled picnic and battle scenes in Summerhill. The weather was lovely (got cold a bit later on, but was lovely and sunny!) Taxi was a bit touch and go with an actress still not arrived when it came (she caught it! We couldn't exactly leave without her). 

We started with the picnic scenes as we were close to dinner when we started shooting. I (with help from my Mam) catered everyone and make some chicken and cheese sandwiches for the crew and Samantha, and salad, tofu and cucumber sandwiches (all vegan friendly) for Jo. We had a bit of fun on the race track and got chased by bees a few times, but it was all good!

We did want the slider for this shoot, but Brad's group managed to get it even though we arranged that we would get it and Brad said we could as he said he wasn't filming on Thursday. But he changed his mind last minute which was a bit unfair. We were also given a dodgy tripod which was wobbly no matter how much we tightened it and a dodgy boom pole which could not tighten the grip properly. I hate how we get all the scraps of equipment and are put last. Lee said he gave us the good equipment too! I wonder what the bad equipment is like... 

Due to the sheer mass of equipment we had (we used the tracking dolly instead of the slider which was such an inconvenience), it was not possible to carry it all to the crater/events arena (where we wanted to film/where we filmed our test footage). We all had a group vote and decided to just film where we were- the boulders. Ethan took some persuading and spent about half an hour umming and ahing when we could have been setting up, so we all put our feet down and said we were filming here. We were completely safe around it! No one was battling people on top of them! 

I asked Jamie to see what shots/where to put the dolly and camera, and what rocks looked good.

http://imgur.com/gallery/Xyrapvm

Meanwhile, I walked the actresses to the main building to get dressed into battle outfits and to also do their make up. We scared a few kids, so it must have looked good!

I came back to see Ethan a bit upset (maybe because we couldn't carry all the equipment to the crater, but he needs to speak up exactly why!) so I tried to boost his morale. Ethan also wanted to work in a different shutter speed for effects (this video describes it better) but it changed the lighting significantly and just didn't look good, so we kept it the same.

We went over our wrap time by quite a bit due to Summerhill being so picturesque and thinking of new shot ideas. Luckily the actors were fine and understanding. I gave them their battle dresses as a thank you and a souvenir.

It all looked so good! The wind even picked up a little bit for the battle scenes which made it look cool with the dresses flying around! (however I have just watched it back and there's a boom pole in most of the shots. Shaun stepped in as sound op as Connor was absent but Ethan should have spoke up saying the boom was in shot and to go again). I might have to oversee booms in shots now, even though that should not be my job.

We all carried the equipment back to the main reception Me (also with the tripod on my back) and Shaun carried the dolly back with a few injuries (cuts and bruises) which has put us off using the dolly (really wanted the slider as we were walking a lot! We could have filmed at the crater if we had it!). Ethan was sighing with having to carry 4 tracks from the dolly (they were light to carry. I would have loved to swap for the track rather than the actual dolly any day!)

One thing we did not pack or plan for was sunburn! Everyone had sunburn the next day (it's literally the middle of April we should not be sunburnt). So we all came to shoot the next day looking like tomatoes (make up and aloe vera fixed this).

Transcendium

Today I helped out as 'backup camera op' for some of the level 5's. Only a few of us turned up to shoot, with no main camera man, so I was promoted. We all got set up on location near Stockton.

The room was very small but we all managed to squeeze in to set up. However, Tori soon got a phone call from the main actor saying he couldn't film this week! He could have let us know sooner and he apparently said that he could make it that week! Actors. 

So we all watched Terminator and discussing more actors for tomorrow (I sadly couldn't help tomorrow as I am on my own film shoot). But I put a few names forward for actors. And also what shots they could do in the meantime/filler shots. 

Tori made us all sandwiches and gave us money to get home. 

Allurement: Editing Day 2

Today we looked at editing some more of the montage, cropping a few shots for Lerysa's bedroom and started editing the end scene.

The montage looks awesome and we have a practise edit, see below.



We will put in some scenes of the two gathering ingredients, playing with the ouija board and also the tarot cards.

We noticed that the tripod was in shot for the wide of Lerysa's bedroom, which was easily fixed. There was also a few canted shots for some of the montage scenes, which was also luckily, easily fixed.

However, what wasn't easily fixed was the softness of some shots. The close ups of each character for the end scene are completely unusable and stand out as lower quality. I have talked to the producer and we are arranging a reshoot after the scenes in Gartha's bedroom on Friday. (mental note: we also need atmos and a close up of the tarot cards) (we got the close up of the tarot cards but forgot the atmos :-( We will have to find pauses in dialogue and make some atmos with that)

Allurement: Editing Day 1

Jamie started editing the footage we filmed on Friday today and we have most of the cheesy time-lapse montage edited and also the tea leaf scene when Lerysa feels like something is wrong. 

Working with Jamie is a pleasure, we are very in sync and have similar ideas in mind. Jamie is willing to try anything I suggest and I salute him for that. What we have so far looks great!

The only major issue we have is the footage. Most of the clips have a very soft focus when it shouldn't and really effects the quality of the other clips and the film. Some of them might be salvageable, but most look aren't and look really bad in full screen. I shouldn't have to remind our camera op to make sure the camera is focused, but I might have to. I did tell them to speak up if there was something wrong with the footage, which is very important. Even though this is not our problem, me and Jamie (and hopefully everyone else in the team!) care a lot about this project and want it to be as best quality as we can. So please, this is for everyone, if there is an issue, don't suffer in silence. Please speak up! Shy girls get no broth.

Live Project 1 - Feedback

We have just got our feedback from Live Project today; mostly mixed feelings. This blog post is about what I took from my feedback.

First of all, I accept that it was hard to mark the work since we deviated from job roles, but if we didn't, the music video would not exist. Something in the feedback said that this wouldn't happen "professionally" but then again, people not turning up to shoots and not doing work is not professional either. 

The next few paragraphs are mostly about my personal feedback. At one point, I was told that my "directorial decisions are less". I'm not quite sure what this means and fails to say in the feedback- I will have to ask about this. 

The fall scene apparently "needed work" but I like to think we did it in a safe environment and still pulled it off. There's only so much you can do without harming your actors (risk assessment!) The story development also "needed work" but this was not my area- Janice came up with the pitch and idea for the music video, but she wanted to produce it as she was already ringing up roller derbys. 

I was also told that the female lead did not give a "believable performance". We did not get professional actors as no one turned up to auditions and we had to search the Uni for actors. Jess is not a actor and I like to think we did pretty well despite this and bless her soul for helping us out, she should not be criticised. Apparently the cutting of the arm needed more "weight", again not quite sure what this means, but it shows that she is a robot. The whole idea is that she does not appear to look like a robot, but when she cuts her arm, she is clearly a robot. I was told to be hyper critical of performances but I really can't think how we could make the performances better. 

I am proud of our final product and called it a "high quality piece of work" which I stick by, but apparently "a high quality product doesn't have six people in it when it is supposed to be a heaving dance night". I found that this was harsh, especially when we tried our hardest to fill up the dance floor. We asked multiple sites, multiple roller derbys, multiple people and all around the Uni for extras, but no one showed up. We did all that we could. I also need to nice "pitfalls of my work better" which I did and put on my blog, and we still make a high quality product! Yes we had a few rough moments, but we handled them well and I am proud of our team for doing this. 

My evaluation was again, weak, but I have no idea how to change this as it has happened each time now! I will again need to talk to someone about this and how to improve it.

But I am happy with the positive feedback I have gained; my blog is good and we handled ourselves well despite lack of actors and other unplanned factors. 

Weather Disaster

Today we were supposed to film the battle scenes and the picnic scene. We checked the weather in advanced and it said 'light showers' which we could live with and the chance of it was unlikely. Shaun also changed the time for the actors to be there at 9, which didn't give much time to let the weather settle. So we ended up cancelling the shoot even though the actors turned up (so their expenses will have to be paid now). 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/michelleregna/good-luck-with-that#.lo1amPmNBN

Even though the weather cleared up throughout the day, it would have been too muddy to film and was very cold. We will have to film the field scenes sometime this week; it's looking likely that we will film it Thursday.

Allurement Day 1: Filming

Director: Sarah Maher
Producer and Sound: Shaun Hunt
Camera: Ethan Turley
Stills Photographer/Cat Keeper: Jamie Jones
Runner: Ruth Maher

Today we filmed all the scenes needed between just Gartha and Lerysa which was mostly Lerysa's and some of Gartha's interior. 

We had a few issues on the morning. Even though I wasn't at the Uni to experience them, I heard that we couldn't get equipment out even though we told Lee in advance (many days in advance) we would need equipment. Apparently level 5's took out the camera we asked for (giving them two to film with on shoot) and left us with nothing. I wish I was there because this is completely unacceptable and I would have kicked up a fuss. We put plenty of notice in and this should not have happened. I also heard at one point we might be getting a black magic to film with which I was ecstatic about! I've wanted to use one as soon as I saw the higher years use it. But apparently people got annoyed and was just "not possible" which was a bit upsetting (we are responsible!) So we had to make do with Shaun's camera and a mini DV. The aesthetic of the film will have to be low quality (which luckily matches what I had in mind for visual inspirations. See this blog post here.)

We booked two taxis; one for the actors and Jimbob, and one for Shaun, Ethan and the equipment. Both got lost. But both luckily got found easily again. While we were waiting for Shaun, we got set up and got the actors into costume and make up, and played with the cat.

It was about 12 noon when we actually started filming (we were hoping to be filming by 11 but the equipment troubles really set us back (I hope my crew said to Lee that they wanted to be on shoot by 11 and the whole thing was an inconvenience). 

We got quite a lot done! The only possible issue was sound as the owner was getting a new bathroom and the builder failed to know what "silence on set" meant. We moved to my house (Gartha's interior) in the poring rain at about 3:30pm to do a few quick montages of the two witches bonding. Everyone loved my house which was cool :-) To be honest, it's a little small and cluttered but we managed to fit everyone in somehow! A few cups of hot chocolate and biscuits (to warm up) later, we got our last shots done of the witches together! We finished filming at about 5:00 for Lerysa and 5:30 for Gartha (an hour from our estimated wrap but luckily the actors didn't mind).

We got so much done, even had time for some shots that I didn't have planned to film today! We are making good progress (despite only just casting this week!) and making a good comeback. Well done everyone!

IS THIS POSSIBLE????

I've had a quick idea for next years digital production module but I have no idea if it is 1) close to the brief 2) too impossible/challenging, but basically seeing Muse and ELO live inspired me to think of this.

Big gigs have big screens to show the action of the band to the whole arena so if people can't see, they can watch the screens.

I had an idea that since we need to make a live stream next year for digital production with vision mixing (don't know the exact brief but I know the level 5's did a live stream!). But basically, we would live stream and vision mix a live gig of a band. You could also direct it so it goes fast for fast bits of the song and would be challenging! I know a band that is wanting publicity and would want to be a part of this and are currently recording a new originals (which I will put up here once they go online).

But I am worried it will be too challenging as we have dwindling numbers in digital and requires a lot of work. We can even have lighting people in the studio to control gels and lights. There's loads of jobs, everyone would be busy. 

This is just an idea and something a bit different to a drama/series.

Costume Hunting

Today one of our actresses came in to try on some outfits. I already had a blood stained ripped white dress but wasn't sure if it would fit the actress (as there was no size on it). Luckily we did get her to try it on as it didn't fit, so I purchased another.

We then both went shopping in charity shops for some pretty and floral dresses for Lerysa. Jo had two in her own wardrobe for the character but Lerysa has quite a few costume changes throughout the film. I ended up buying two;

This one needs taking up a little bit which I can do on the day to fit around Jo. 

This one I like! It suits Jo and the character and fits well.

Jo also tried on another one but it wasn't very flattering and was a weird shape.

I've also told Jo to bring a few shoes with her to shoot as well as her dresses, the white wig and some tacky accessories. 

Other Minor Roles

While filling out the call sheets for the weekend, we needed to fill in the gaps of other roles such as catering and wardrobe, etc.

We have decided to give the actors some money towards their own meals and to ideally bring their own (I was trying to find something vegan friendly for Jo but failed). I am in charge of catering on Saturday as I bought some picnic props such as sandwiches (I bought Jo a salad and tofu. Yeahh that's vegan friendly right?) 

We are all donating our own props to the shoot (but me and Jamie are mostly supplying the gothic and pastel furnishings).

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/i-volunteer-as-tribute-gif

I have volunteered as tribute to be make up and wardrobe. I have done some make up tests so I know what I am after, and wardrobe as I have a basic knowledge of sewing (I needed to adjust a dress for one of our actors).

Prop Hunting

Today only 2/5 of the group turned up, excluding our producer. This really set us back as we were looking at filming tomorrow but obviously can't now since our producer wasn't in to fill out booking forms, tell the actors and the location. We will have to film the field scene on Friday, I am a bit stressed whether we will get equipment out since Mike has warned us it will be limited. Our producer needs to get on it ASAP!

Me and Ethan went prop hunting on the morning for bits we would need for the shoot. We bought a few rings and found a backup white dress that could fit out Lerysa (but I already have a white dress somewhere that's ripped and blood stained but I'm not sure where or what size it is) It also might we worth asking Jo if she has any.

We also needed flowers and food but we thought it would be better to buy them fresh on the day of shooting. 

Wand Duel Choreography

I have decided to go beyond the call of duty and choreograph a small wand duel for the field scene and to make it more 'epic' (to make Di happy) and to also get Jamie experimenting with different visual effects.

Gartha clenches her fist (CU). Her dialogue (Aaaaagh!). She thrusts her hand towards Lerysa, who deflects it with her wand (see below).

Lerysa does some fancy flicks with her wand, flicking it three times; once above her head, and twice straight towards Gartha.

We see Gartha block the final one with her arm across her face. She reaches her arm out to cast another spell. Lerysa does the same with her wand. Their lightning streams clash. We wait for about 10 seconds of them struggling. Lerysa breaks the chain by raising her wand up high and they both fly backwards.

Gartha gets up and casts a spell ball with her hands, building the energy. Eventually, she releases it and screams at the same time. Lerysa flies backwards.

Lerysa gets up and they both run towards each other. They jump, giving the illusion of flying. 

Final FINAL Cast List

Due to a member of cast being VERY limited in availability (even though she told me she would be free frequently) and us filming to a tight schedule, we have had to recast a role so we could be filmed and done in time. Hopefully our previous cast member will be understanding towards this.

Samantha V Hutton as Gartha
Nathan Vose as June
Jo Moriarty as Lerysa

PRODUCTION IS GO!

Since we were finally cast over Easter, me and Shaun worked closely to arrange shooting dates with the actors so they could be free on the days, the weather report, and also the locations to see if they could make the days. Shaun sent out an email today with possibly dates but our Lerysa can't make the shoot this weekend so we might have to film either early this week or late next. Also Mike has told us that equipment might be limited as there are loads of modules currently in production and filming. Fantastic. Since our team has not shot anything over Easter and are seriously behind since no female actors turned up to audition, we should get first dibs on equipment. 

Jamie spent today looking at more effects we could use for spells. He found this great tutorial to make a fireball spell from scratch. It took a while, but not he can copy and paste the effect to save time. The spell at first was static so I wanted it to move, which Jamie did without consulting the video (as it didn't say how and he already knew!) and it looks fantastic! You can even change the colour. I also like how he lit the end of the wand (also without a video tutorial). I asked him to look at possible spells for Gartha too and to look at making us fly when he is next booked into the edit suites. 

The Extended Pan Shot

I don't know if this is the actual name of the shot, but I have noticed recently, more and more music videos and adverts have used this long pan shot in what looks like one long take, and change locations and actors around it to tell a story. It's quite clever and looks impressive and cinematic. I have no idea how they do it as they obviously couldn't do it all in one take and build a set/house in one big line and get the actors to slow down their movements. It would be interesting to look into and I'd like to film something like this one day.

Final Cast List!

Samantha Hutton as Gartha
Nathan Vose as June
Jessica Porter as Lerysa

Shaun is contacting the actors and the locations now to confirm shooting dates and to check availability. We will have a big team meeting tomorrow to arrange when we are filming and to make sure the actors don't clash and can make it. I am pretty excited!

Auditions ROUND 2!

I put up an advert on Facebook and on Four Bridges just for the female lead roles and I've had four come back to me, one dropped out as she lived in London. I have just Skyped one today and read extremely well for Gartha and I couldn't be happier. I want to cast her! She even has her own radio show where she plays a character much like Gartha. We would have to pay for her travel expenses though but that would be fine.

Janice Our Saviour

Janice is a member of a theatre group page and also 'Peterlee Have Your Say' and she put out a message to members saying to contact me for a 'lead role' in a film. Turns out lead role is the crucial part to put on a status! I have had 7 scheduled Skype auditions for this week and 7 more unscheduled ones but interested.

Timetable

Tuesday I had a total of 3 people scheduled for auditions. One of them failed to log on in time and went communicado and eventually messaged back to audition later on in the evening. They had a very heavy Scottish accent and was way over the age limit (but looks younger on her headshots) but otherwise read well. We also had one potential Gartha (wasn't angry enough but can be directed to be angrier) and one really good (but nervous) Lerysa.

Thursday I had a total of 3 people scheduled for auditions. One of them cancelled last minute, failing to give another date they are free. One of them failed to log on in time and went communicado so they have lost out. And one person with a very limited availability and did not read through very well.

Sunday (working on my Birthday!) I had 5 auditions scheduled. The first was very friendly but came across as shouty (a bit too confident) and had limited availability. The second was the opposite- she was very calm and a good Lerysa and also lives close, but she was a bit monotonal while reading. The fourth one was AMAZING AS LERYSA! I'd like to cast her! The next one did not answer and was offline (and did this on Thursday too!) so she will not have a third chance and will not be cast in any other productions. And the final one was good at Lerysa and even remembered all her lines off by heart, but has limited availability.

I have uploaded notes on each actor on the group VLE page and I will upload another post of the final cast list!

Storyboards - COMPLETE

After 3 weeks of doing storyboards, I have finally finished them and scanned them up on the VLE. I have also learnt that I can't draw (hey I knew this anyway!) so I'm going to annotate the script with the ideas in my storyboard and also discuss them with Ethan to make an updated shot list. 

Location and Actress - DISASTER!

With only having one female turn up for auditions, we needed another female ASAP as I was hopefully wanting us to be cast by they Easter holidays so we could film as soon as we get back. We have posted on Four Bridges (one person hopeful, but they dropped out). Even my mother asked customers in her shop (one looked really promising as well but she has went communicado!) 

Shaun also told me that the location we were wanting for Lerysa's exterior and garden scene said no. Apparently there's five tennants living there now (even though it is still for sale on the website we found it on) and would be "too much hassle" and kept cutting Shaun off and not listening to his reasoning. I say good riddance, I don't want my producer being talked to like that, and it's their loss.

Shaun has contacted Chris (ex student) as he apparently has a big garden (UPDATE he has said yes to filming it!) and a possible actress for us! She has been sent the audition scripts. Things might be looking up!