MAIN SHOOT: Adjustments to storyboard and shoot board

Because we decided to change our location and cut out/add in some shots, we had to make adjustments to our storyboard:

Here we added a shot of Christopher washing his roommate's dishes/making tea -
although we're not sure if we'll definitely use the tea shot in the final edit… it depends how long the rest of the opening is

We then slightly changed our shoot board:

We had to use photos of the storyboard shots because it wasn't worth the time to take more photos - we just needed to make it clear to us that these new shots would be needed/old ones taken out so we could refer to it when filming and know what we would film, when, how long it should take, etc. 

Research And Planning: Adapting the script

Research and Planning: Adapting the script

With our original script, we realised that there were parts that needed to be changed for the sake of realism and character relatability, for example, "we're in a bit of a tizz" was changed to "well this is a bit embarrassing".

<--- first draft / final draft --->

We also changed bits such as the interaction with the barista, upon review by the teacher, to just Christopher bumping into Naomi on his way to uni, because it is very unlikely that we would have gotten permission from a barista to be in our film, and even if we did, it would have been difficult to film and disrupting for other people in the coffee shop/coffee stall. This also made the script more audience-friendly and focused on only on the essential parts of the story.

FINAL FULL SCRIPT

Rough Edit Feedback

Rough Edit Feedback

After the teachers had watched our rough edit, we received the following feedback;

• Move the soundtrack to the very beginning - the opening sequence should not start with complete silence (DONE)
• Don't track the character to the bathroom - Instead use tighter framing or increased scale on the mirror, and have him come up into the frame
  

• Collar pop is redundant in comparison to light-switch shot; adapt script to talk about light-switch
  

• Possibly extend voice-over through journey shots OR cut it down, there is a lot of information to take in, and if we do this move 'My routine changed...' to just before collision
• Remember 180 degree rule when filming actual shoot, it was broken during the collision
  
  
  
  

Use tighter framing in the conversation, there's too much space in the frame

Rehearse the collision more so that it seems fluid

Take out line 'I'm not much company' and have him just walk away

Make Christopher look younger - Satchel, chinos, shirt, tie - rather than business looking

Improve lighting in the household shots - Get Chris to show us how to use the lighting kits

Test Shoot Reflections

As part of the preparation for the main shoot, we carried out a test shoot to clarify what would and what would not work when filming our opening. We used our animatic to create a shoot board:

This helped us when filming our test shoot.

We faced quite a few challenges when filming. Firstly, when the camera tracks Christopher from his bedroom to he bathroom, the camera had to be handheld and it was difficult to keep it steady. We eventually decided (after we edited the test shoot) that in the main shoot the camera will be stationary in the bathroom (on the tripod) for the mirror shot.

We weren't sure at first how to move from the shot of Christopher buttoning his shirt to when he eats cereal. We knew we wanted to pan behind an obstruction and come out into the next shot, but the obstruction we were using (a chest of drawers) didn't look the same colour as the second obstruction (the knife rack). We fixed this on the test shoot by putting an A3 black book in front of the drawers:

We weren't expecting this shot to be successful, and because it went well we know to definitely include it in the main shoot.

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Our shot on the train also turned out to be quite successful (although we had to change Brandon's last name in order for the title to fit, but this doesn't matter):

However, we won't be using it in our main shoot because when filming on the Southbank we were asked to stop because you need a permit to be able to film there. We have decided for our main shoot we will film in Crouch End, because it's local and therefore convenient but it also looks quite obviously like London. There is also an open space where we can film the conversation between the two characters.

(picture of Crouch End from Google Images)

Before being told to leave the Southbank, we did get some good iconographic shots:

We had some difficulty filming some of the journey shots.

Christopher was initially going to be walking directly towards the camera, which would be moving with him. But it was too difficult to stop the camera from shaking. We ended up keeping the camera stationary (positioned on the ground for the close-up of the shoes and on the tripod for the mid shot). They were fine like this, so we will be doing this in the main shoot.

In the last scene, the actors kept moving out of the frame:  

When editing, we realised that we had problems with continuity - for example, Eliza's hands would not be doing the same thing in each shot and sometimes they would be standing in different places:

We will make sure that for our main shoot the actors know not only what to say but also exactly where to be positioned and what to be doing with their arms, facial expressions etc. so that it will be continuous and make sense.

Reflections on the ANIMATIC

STUDENT REFLECTIONS

Before making our animatic, we made this storyboard:

After it was done, we realised that we needed to add more shots than we had planned to fit the dialogue between the two characters towards the end. We also had to make changes to the order of the shot-reverse-shots during the collision, when the characters bump into each other, in order to fit with dialogue and what the characters were doing, e.g. a mid shot from the side when they were trying to walk around each other but ended up walking in the same direction, rather than over the shoulder, so the audience can actually see what's happening.
We also made an adjustment to the script: Naomi would recognise Christopher from her class at university before following him, because this makes more sense - she won't just be randomly interested in him and won't appear as overly eccentric or crazy.

When making our animatic, we realised that we had to make alterations to the script, because the voiceover was too long - if it had started at the point we had originally intended, which was when Christopher was looking in the mirror, it would not have finished until after he had left the house, which is not what we wanted. We had to cut out some of the voiceover and start it at the first shot, when Christopher is lying in bed.

When we took the photos, we found that some shots would be more difficult than we had thought, e.g. the first shot of Christopher (it was difficult to get a shot from exactly above that wasn't angled), and the shot from inside the wardrobe. But we could get them to work.

We also realised that the music and dialogue at the end ended too abruptly, and we would need to make it start fading out the volume earlier.

Overall, we think the animatic went well! It has given us a better understanding as to what shots we will use when, particularly at the end with the conversation between Naomi and Christopher. The music seemed to fit and eventually the dialogue fit with the shots.

We also changed our idea for the titles. Initially, we had intended them to be black and in capitals, but for the animatic they looked better white and not all in capitals for the font we decided on. Whether we use black or white titles for our actual opening will depend on lighting and what is in the shot.

TEACHER FEEDBACK
Some parts of our animatic weren't clear, for example, towards the end during the conversation when Christopher and Naomi are trying to get past each other. Our camera movement also isn't shown in the animatic, so it gives the impression that our opening will be very static, which it will not be.
At one point, Christopher leaves the house but then comes back in to flick the light switch three times before leaving again - this was to highlight his OCD traits. But we have decided not to include this - it is unnecessary since we only have two minutes. It also is not clear in our animatic what is going on here. He will still flick the light switch, but he will do this before leaving the house the first time.

Treatment: Soundtrack

SOUNDTRACK: "Building Blocks" - happy, not too upbeat/energetic; creates a light-hearted atmosphere, catchy

http://freeplaymusic.com/search.aspx?q=building%20blocks

- Quietly in the background during the voiceover
- Christopher leaves the house, voiceover stops, titles appear, music gets louder
- Similar music to Struck By Lightning (guitar, piano - simple and light-hearted but not too energetic)

(this clip is the whole movie since the opening is not on youtube - just watch the first couple of minutes)