Rough cut

This is the rough cut for my film opening. As you can see I've added various effects to my footage on final cut like timecodes and the effect, security to make it look like the footage is from a security camera at one point. I've also added a camcorder effect to certain clips to give the illusion that it is the stalker (Niklaus Buchanan) filming and recording the teenager (Zoe Hunter). I also added a fade to colour and static effect to the footage at the end to give it a more sinister and mysterious feel. Although I’ve added all these effects this is still only my rough cut though and as you can see I still need to add titles, credits and music to my footage before it is finished. 

Filming review

Day one of filming - Friday

On the first day I managed to finish most of the filming that was to be done in Wymondham, both inside the house and in the street. It didn't take too long to film all the scenes in the house and most of the shots worked really well with no hitches. Emily found it quite easy to get into the character and most shots didn't take long to film at all. The only scene that didn't work so well was trying to film Emily entering the bathroom. Due to her bathroom being small there wasn't any space to stand the tripod except for in the bath. It was very challenging to get the tripod to balance in the bath and once that was achieved it was a challenge for Emily to enter the room without bursting into fits of laughter. We soon managed to get a shot though and after that everything ran smoothly again. After getting home and uploading the footage to my computer I noticed a few things that need to be re-filmed for various reasons and also a few thing that need to be filmed to help make sense of the sequence. These are just a few shots that shouldn't take too long to re-film and so I arranged to film this on Sunday.

Day two of filming - Saturday

On the second day of filming I managed to get most of the shots from the city of Emily skating around and putting the posters up. Most of the filming on this day went well and we didn't get too many interruptions from other people asking what we were doing or walking into shot. Due to us working in one specific area in Norwich for filming it meant that we didn't have to walk far between location and we got the filming done fairly quickly. I managed to get lots of good shots of Emily skateboarding, though sometimes these shots did prove difficult to capture. Emily is slightly shy when it comes to skating and so although she was willing to do it in front of the camera, she didn't like doing it when strangers were watching which meant we spent a little of our time waiting for people to go past before we filmed. It was also easy to film Peter as there was only about four shots that I needed to film with him and after I had shot these he could leave so I and Emily could finish the rest. Most of the filming though did run smoothly with no distractions and we managed to wrap everything up within an hour of starting.

When I put this footage on my laptop I didn't notice anything that needed to be re-filmed as most of the shots were of good quality. While filming though I did come up with a new shot which would emphasise the fact that Emily is being watched a followed. I decided to use a high angle shot of her coming out of the under passage so that I could later while editing make the footage look like that of a security camera.

Day three of filming - Sunday

One the third day I managed to finish all the filming which was just the few shots that needed to be re-filmed at Emily's. All the filming on this day went well and we managed to finish the filming in half an hour. It was very easy to get the shots as Emily already knew what she had to do, having already done the actions on Friday. The only problem was that her mother kept interrupting the filming, but we still managed to finish all the filming in no time at all. None of the footage should need to be re-filmed as I checked the footage before leaving and everything looked good.  

With all the filming that I did, I used my storyboards on all three days to help me know what scene I was filming where and also what shots and angles I planned to use with these scenes. I found that using it was very helpful and it helped to make everything run smoothly on all three days and also helped to make sure I didn't miss scenes out by mistake. The use of having the storyboard helped me keep on track what I needed to film and my detailed notes that went along with it helped me know what shots I wanted for the scene.

Images whilst filming

This is the behind the scenes video that I created which contains bloopers and shots from scenes in my two minuet film opening. Due to me working alone for this project I couldn't film any behind the scenes of me setting up the equipment and getting ready to film. When I started to edit my film opening though I managed to find some footage that I wouldn't be able to use but was quite funny and showed what I had been doing while filming. I decided to put all the clips together on final cut and edit it into a behind the scenes video by adding a few captions and effects so it ran smoothly together.

This is the Interview with Emily who plays Zoe Hunter in my film opening. Here you see her answering questions about what we have accomplished so far and how well things have gone. 

Video Diary 2

This is my second video diary where you can see me editing my footage on final cut. You can see me cutting out footage that I didn't need as well as adding in different transitions, titles and effects to my footage.

Video Diary 1

This is my first video diary, it shows my planning and preparation for the film opening. In it you can see all my original ideas as well as my final idea. There are also storyboards shown which go along with my final idea.

Shooting schedule

Friday the 30th December- Wymondham- 12:30pm

Locations;

-Emily's bedroom 

-Emily's bathroom

-Emily's kitchen

-sycamore avenue street

-bus stop by the co-op

-on the bus

This will be the day I film all the scenes I need from my friend’s house in Wymondham and in the area around there. We organised this a few days in advance over messenger and decided that I would come to Wymondham around 12 so we could get as much filming down as possible. My aim was to get all the scenes that I needed from Wymondham done that day so the only place I need to film from was Norwich. 

Saturday 30th December - Norwich - 01:00pm 

Locations;

-Alleyway 

-graffiti wall by Anglia square 

This will be the day that I film all the scenes from Norwich, like the skating around, putting up posters and the stalker. We organised this the day before and agreed to get the bus to Norwich at one so it would give Emily time to get ready and me time to gather everything I would need for filming. My aim for this day was to get everything that had to be filmed in Norwich done as it would be hard to come back here again before the end of the holidays to do the filming.

Sunday 1st January - Wymondham - 01:00pm

Locations;

-Emily's bedroom

-Emily's kitchen 

This will be the day that I film the little scenes that needed re-filming at Emily's house. After looking back at the footage last night I discovered a few scenes that needed to be re-filmed for various reasons so agreed with Emily the day before to come to hers at one so I could do a re-shoot of these scenes. After this I would not have any other filming that would need to be done for my film opening.  

It proved quite easy to organise all of this filming due to me and Emily not having much on during the holidays. Because we were both off for Christmas break it meant be both had a lot of free time so I could easily find time to get the filming down with Emily. Due to me also only having one cast member and deciding to work independently on this project I only needed to make sure Emily was free which made organising a filming schedule very easy compared to if I needed to organise it with three other people in mind. 

Storyboards

Here you can see that this is the storyboard for when the character Zoe Hunter is getting up and ready. Most of these shots will be filmed with eye level shots or close up to show the audience exactly what is going on.

I will use a close up of the alarm clock ticking on the bed side table. Little of the bedroom will be seen in this shot and the main aim of it will be to show the audience the time the teen is waking up.

The next shot will be of Emily sleeping in the bed which will be the first introduction of a character to the audience. For this shot I will use a high angle to show how vulnerable this teen is before going into an eye level angle so people can get a better connection with the character.

I'll then have a shot of the alarm clock going off with Emily's hand reaching out to shut it off. I'll again use a close up shot to catch the action of her hand hitting the clock and shutting it off; showing her teenage tenderises to not want to get up.

I will then have a close up shot of Emily opening her eyes. This gives the audience a good connection with this character and also shows her waking up and obviously getting ready for the day ahead.

I'll then have a medium shot of Emily entering the bathroom. This will be followed by a shot from over the shoulder where you see her looking in the mirror and adjusting her hair before turning the tap on. You will see a close up shot of her doing this before there is a close up shot of her face as she uses the water to wash it.

You will then see her down stairs where she is seen making her breakfast which will use mainly close ups shots to show each of her actions intently. I will also use a medium shot to show her reaching up to get a mug out the make a cup of tea.

You'll then see Emily in the bathroom brushing her teeth. I'll use again a shot from over the shoulder so you can see her looking in the mirror before picking up her toothbrush and brushing her teeth. I will show a close up of the tap running before she rinses her toothbrush and applies the toothpaste. I will also show a close up of her face as she brushes her teeth. I will stand in front of her so it will seem as if the camera was the mirror to the audience.

You will then see her grab a strap from the bag and place it on her back in one swift motion.

I will then have a close up shot of the skateboard on the carpet and Emily will walk over to it and you will see her hand in the shot going to pick the board up and then walking away.

After this I will have a long shot of Emily opening the front door and walking out. She will be seen closing the door before walking off towards the side and out of shot.

I will have a medium shot that'll turn into a long shot of Emily skating way form the house from behind. I will also take a close up of the wheels of the skateboard and put it between the clip of her skating and another.

I will have a low shot of her skating past a different street heading towards the bus stop with her coming up from behind me at an angle so she ended in the centre of the shot.
I'll have a medium shot of Emily waiting at the bus stop, looking out towards the street in anticipation for the bus. She will look slightly nervous and also sad as she wait.

                  (This section of the story board shows the different shots I was considering using but ended up cutting out of the final product due to them being too time consuming. Everything up until the teen waiting at the bus stop is what has been cut)                                                 

I will then have a medium shot again from the side of the bus approaching the bus stop and Emily holding her hand out to stop it.

I will take a medium shot, close up, and side shot of Emily on the bus. I will get all these different angles to give the audience more of a connection with this character and also to show more of her emotion to the audience. By getting closer and closer to this character it gives the audience a better understanding of her and gives an indication that her walls are breaking and that we will soon understand more about this character.

I will then have a medium shot of Peter sitting in the car with the camera close to his face pointing in the direction of where Emily will be skating. I will use this shot so it gives the audience more of an idea of what this character is like without them getting to close to them, as after all he is a stalker and the main objective is to not be seen.

I will then have a wide shot of Emily skating past the car from the perspective of the stalker in the driver’s seat and then from a position in front of her as she approaches the under passage. This will give people the sense that she is going on a journey somewhere and we are following her to see where she goes.

I will then have various shots from the side of Emily as she puts the posters up in both the under passage and on the graffiti wall before having an close up going into an extreme close up of the missing persons poster. 

Final locations

Location one- Bedroom (Wymondham)

I chose to use this location because I needed to film in a bedroom and my actor Emily allowed me to use her home as the setting. This location was the best to use as my actor would be familiar with the location and would find it easier to act natural due to her being in her own setting. It also isn't located far from where I live which means I didn't have to travel a great distance to get to the location and because Emily lives there, she would be ready for filming as soon as I arrived.

I used this location so I could film the scene where my actor is getting ready. I needed it to be in a room that showed off the fact that this is a family home which I felt this house did. I also needed this room to reflect that of one a teen would live in so the place would show an ordinary bedroom of a teen.

This setting helps with the construction of mise-en-scene as it shows that this is a teenager’s room which explains why the girl is in there and it also helps to demonstrate that she is just waking up with the use of the alarm clock and the shot of her waking up in the bed. 

Location two- On the bus (Wymondham to Norwich)

I chose to use this location as I needed to film my actor going from Wymondham to Norwich and the bus seemed like the easiest option. I filmed Emily sitting on the bus, looking out the window and listening to music, acting like a normal teen getting on the bus.

I used this location so I could show the viewer the great distance the teen is going and to help explain how she got from her home in Wymondham to Norwich.

This setting helps the construction of mise-en-scene as the character Emily is playing isn't old enough to know how to drive, so getting the bus would be the easiest way for her to get from one place to another. It also like I stated before helps to explain how she got from one location (Wymondham) to another (Norwich).

Location three- Alleyway by Anglia Square (Norwich)

This location is being used to show how the teen girl is trying desperately to find her sister by putting posters up around Norwich. I decided to use Norwich and this alleyway as it is close to another area I wanted to film by and also many people tend to put posters up in these areas due to them being used often which would be a great place to put a missing person’s poster. This area was also good to use due to the fact that it isn't overly busy often which meant I could easily film Emily without too many interruptions by others who would be walking by. This location was good to show the stalker following Emily and showing her putting up the poster. This location also gave me many options for different shots I could use to film Emily which other locations didn't offer. The steps just round the corner gave me the option for close ups and extreme close ups as well as over the shoulder shots and tilts as she walked down. The high walls at the side also gave me the chance to use a high angle to show how vulnerable the teen is at this moment.  

This setting helps the construction of mise-en-scene as it shows a glimpse to the audience of what is going on in this film and shows the teen girl is desperately wanting to find her little sister. 

                                                        Location four- Graffiti wall (Anglia square)

I wanted to include this setting in my film opening because the artwork is very captivating and it shows an interesting setting to the audience. There was also a piece of work on there that had the word 'track' painted on which I wanted to incorporate to subtly suggest how the teen is going to track and find her sister. It also shows how she herself is being tracked and followed by this mysterious guy. This location was also good to show the teen putting up another missing poster to help try and find her sister.

This setting helps the construction of mise-en-scene as it shows a glimpse to the audience of what is going on in this film and shows the teen girl is desperately wanting to find her little sister.