Location Shots

Below are images of all the locations that I will be using to film my short picture, the pictures are shot from the approximate angle that I will be filming from when making the short film, I will use these to help me visualize what I am going to be doing when filming.

Medium shot

 

Close Up

 

 Long Shot

 

The above shots will be used in the romance seen where the main girl will be looking directly at the camera from a slightly high angle to show innocence and a slight vulnerability and naivety. She is in an open field and the weather will be bright to represent her as a good character early in the film. The shots will be edited in alternation between shots of the girl and shots of the boy to introduce romance, the shots will get closer each time the shot changes.

POV of skateboard

 

 

POV of human characters

Above is a shot of the bedroom of the skateboard, it is messy which shows rebellion, the shots used will be from the point of view of the skateboard cut with shots from the point of view of the people at the door of the room, shown below, the high angle POV shot makes the skateboard look vulnerable and alone.

 

 

 

Above are shots of the bench that the skateboard and boy will be sat on in the first scene of the film, the boy will be drinking and smoking in a public space which again shows rebellion, the boy and skateboard will always be shot together to show their partnership.

 

The above shot is a POV from the skateboard as he leaves his bedroom.

 

Zoomed shot of house

 

Establishing shot

The above shots are establishing shots of the exterior of the skateboard's house, the shot will zoom in to the door and fade to the next shot.

 

Here there will be people on the field playing, and the sun in the background to create a joyous tone.

The above shots are all of the skate park that the boy and skateboard will be shot using at the start of the film, there will be a few people there skating to show a community and the weather will mirror the mood in being bright and sunny.

List of Locations Used For Shooting

Below is a list of all the locations in my film, all within South Woodham Ferrers

• Compass Gardens - used for love scene
• Compass Gardens Skate Park
• House - used to show restriction and conflict
• Street/Sidewalk
• Spar - store hold up scene.
• Graveyard (Back Garden)
• Old garage - used for suicide scene

Schedule for first Shoot

I aim to have the first shoot of all the scenes of my short film to be on Wednesday the 30th of September, if a second shoot is needed after looking at the footage from that date then I will post the schedule for the second date of shooting. I am also reliant on the weather being good for the most part of filming so if the weather is poor I won't be able to film on this day.

 I do not have to give cast members a script to learn lines from as there is no dialogue in my short film, on the day of shooting main characters will spend around an hour rehearsing their scenes and then they will spend around 1-4 hours shooting their scenes, the rest of the day will be all orientated around shooting the skateboard's movement. As well as creating a 'making of...' documentary.

Camera Techniques Workshop Notes

• The first technique we looked at whilst learning about Camera Shots and Techniques was the rule of thirds. This rule is a convention used by most filmmakers to place the character in either the left or right third, depending on which way they are facing or walking. This makes it more comfortable for the audience as the characters are not placed in confrontational positions and are not intimidating to the viewer, however some filmmakers decide to break this rule by placing the character in the centre of the screen in order to make the audience uncomfortable, this is something I will do in my short film in order to follow the dark comedy genre.
• When using the rule of thirds, there are few key things to consider. One of these is 'Looking Room' By this we mean that there should be space in the direction that the character is looking. For example if the character is facing the right of the screen, he should be placed on the left third of the screen to allow room in the direction that he is facing.
• Another point to consider is 'head room', the character should have some space above his head so that we can see his entire face and what is above his head.
• Similarly to looking room, it is important to consider 'walking room' when the characters in the shot are moving, it is important to keep room in front of the character when they are walking so that we can see what is in front of them and where they are heading.
• We then practiced using tripods to create high angle and low angle shots we learnt how to assemble the tripods and attach the cameras, also we learnt how to change the angle and to keep the camera straight when using the tripod.
• Finally we were advised on how to shoot a dialogue between two people. It is important to use at least three shots from different angles when filming a conversation and it is important to place these angles on a 180 degree angle to one another, otherwise known as not crossing the line. This is important to ensure the audience do not become confused by the series of shots used.
• An example of the rule of thirds being followed is shown below.

 

 

• Furthermore in order to cater for my additional filming difficulties such as tracking skateboards at high speeds, I watched a few tutorial videos on youtube in order to gain a better understanding of filming skateboard films. It is easiest to track the moving skateboard whilst the cameraman is on another skateboard. This means that you can keep up with the skateboard but it is important to use cruiser wheels which are smoother and quieter in order to avoid distorting the sound.
• It is also important to shoot from a low angle most of the time to get closer to the skateboard and make the ramps and tricks look higher and therefore more skilful. Some example shots are shown below.

  

 

 

First Draft Storyboard

Below is the first draft of my film's storyboard, I will try to match my storyboard as best I can when it comes to producing my short film.

Cast

Boy - Aaron Baker
Girl - Natasha Boddy
Shopkeeper - Samuel Knappett
Bully #1 - Torben Macrae
Bully #2 - Alex Arthur
Bully #3 - Cameron Pease
Bully # 4 - Josh Brand
Drug Dealer - James Mannion

Conclusion From Survey Results

I spent some time creating some questions for a survey that I distributed to a number of friends and classmates so that any elements of my film that I was unsure of could be solved and the help of fellow film viewers to give me their opinions on my film's genre and what it should include.

I asked what sort of music is most suitable for the dark comedy genre and most agreed that upbeat, light hearted music that mirrored the scenes and also portrayed the emotions of the characters. When asked how to personify the skateboard's emotions throughout the film and whether or not to a voiceover for the skateboard character there was a split opinion, those that said that the skateboard should have a voiceover mostly said because it would make it simpler and easier to understand, those who thought there shouldn't be a voiceover favoured the idea of having music represent the skateboard's emotions and also he use of reactions of human characters personify the skateboard. I have chosen not to narrate the skateboard as this survey has helped me realise that to stay ambiguous and mysterious, which is common in a dark comedy, I should keep the skateboard silent and have other less obvious techniques personify it, i.e. music and reaction shots of other characters.

I also needed to know how I would introduce the main characters quickly, as this is often an issue when creating short films, as well as introducing romances and friendships. Narration was suggested for these characters introductions. But it was mainly advised that the character be introduced at the very start and should be shot at the appropriate angles to represent them as well as using lighting and environment to portray their characteristics. For a dark comedy genre, I gathered the idea from my results that stereotypical scenes of staring into each other's eyes while music plays to introduce romance. However a couple of members of the audience suggested that an awkward moment that brings the two together, I will try to incorporate both these aspects to introduce the romance in my film.

When asked what features make a film viewer uncomfortable, they responded with 'awkward humour' , 'dramatic changes in music' etc. these are both features that I will now look to include in my short film. I also gathered that in order to create comedy after a serious incident such as a murder, over the top, melodramatic and clumsy acting can be used to make the audience laugh about a dark subject. I used a multiple choice question to see which techniques were preferred to personify the skateboard, in which 'music to portray emotions' dominated with only a couple of votes for 'voiceover' and 'reaction shots of other characters'. So for my film I may use all of these techniques but I will focus more on using appropriate music in depth instead of lots of reaction shots and voiceovers.