Production - ITS A WRAP! Production thoughts

ITS FINALLY A WRAP! I can't believe its flown so quick


Its amazing to see the progression of where we were three weeks ago to now and how we have grown as a team to create something truly special. It makes me happy to know all out hard work hasn't been in vein. day to night for three weeks we have worked tirelessly to ensure we make the best film we can possibly make, with the actors stepping up to the plate.

It hasn't been without its cons though. a big con was the lack of runners on shoot days, which meant that I have to do a lot of the running about when I should have really been doing and focussing on directing, which i still managed to do. I feel if we were to do this project again, a massive emphasis on runners to help everyone get onto location. This was a massive issue when it came to the romford shoot as it cost an absolute fortune to get us there, which was a shame but it looked good nonetheless.

I feel Andrew didn't fully commit to his role and had all of the necesssities of being a diva (if you pardon the exaggeration). His constant need for food and lack of focus slightly hindered our results but I am happy with the role nonetheless. Malik turned up every day with the urge to shoot something magical, and he did. credit to him for his dedication into the role. Jay for what little we had of him was absolutely fantastic and was a credit to the show, I can't believe we hit such a gem with this fellow, I'm happy that we come across someone with so much passion for acting without hindering the directing, following every order and committing to his role fully, allowing me to ply my trade and getting the best out of himself on screen.


Now for charlie to begin the editing. From a directorial standpoint, my work here is done. I'm going to sit with charlie and allow him to ply his trade and really get the best out of the film without hindering his abilities.

Production - Student house shoots

The student house shoots were considered to be the better shoots as Tim lived at the house. It granted us access to something that we didn’t have before, which was unlimited access on shoot. We didn’t have to worry about the public, timing, or weather. We could shoot as much as we liked, as long as our batteries lasted. We shot over two days and got through around 8 scenes. The turnaround on scenes was great and we had great lighting on the day to do a quick turnaround.

it really was a great place to shoot in. Everything fell into place with ease and we managed to get all of the scenes we wanted to shoot at the student house done with good time to spare.

Below is a gallery of the day and a full justification on it on the rough cut. 

Production - Club shoot.

Club Kosho was yet another shoot involving the need to direct extras. Now that I had a basis for how to direct extras developed from the lecture theatre shoot, it allowed me to exert more confidence in projecting my creative direction to a group of people. The extras on the day were great and very flexible which allowed me to focus on putting the actors over on the big screen.

We were granted 2 hours to shoot the club scene, so as soon as we turned up, it was getting to work time, everyone played their part in creating something special. The owner of the club allowed full use of the lights which allowed more colours and allowed more creative direction inside of the camera lense, as that is what the most important factor is.

The biggest downside of the shoot was the distance we had to travel to get to the location. Because the shoot was in romford it ate a lot of the budget up on travelling and getting the crew from A to B, which meant we were over budget on other aspects of the production. Although Timothy tried his best to get the best locations and extras, the Romford shoot was definitely questionable in terms of distance, as there were clubs in the area that could accommodate if we allocated time to access all of the local area. That being said, sometimes in life you have  to play the hand you're dealt, so we did, effectively. 

Below is my thoughts on the day.

Production - Review so far

So far, the project is going really well, we did have a few hiccups through the project but overall it was a great first couple of days. Ive overcome my fear of talking to crowds. Don't get me wrong, we got the results and I was very happy, but something wasn't right before. Ive never been a good social speaker, so this was my first big break in trying out this new methodology.

The fairmeadow underpass shoot is something that I didn't really anticipate would be a great shoot if im honest. But I really have pulled it back. The amount of people that were there to help me and my crew was astonifshing so I couldn't thank everyone enough for coming and helping out. Its such a crazy thing to think we had a major underpass in Maidstone to ourselves and it went really well.

It makes me think looking forwards to think of the positives of the project and that it can be done if you put your mind to it.

Production - Day 2 - Underpass Fairmeadow

Here is todays shot list:

As you can see this is a mostly handheld shoot. This encapsulates what we were trying to get out of the scene, outside shots will be handheld, inside on sticks. Gives the feeling of uneasiness. 

Setup in the underpass, lighting setup, camera setup, sound setup, Sam Creamer as advisor to the director. Charlie was also 

Now for our first properly outside shoot. I was really excited for this day as its working outside in a good location. As we are working in the public, its important that the public know that we are shooting and that what they are seeing is just fiction, so hi vis jackets with the UCA TELEVISION PRODUCTION branding was key to making sure everyone involved are safe. I wore a hi vis jacket, as well as Harry and Alex, who were our production assisstants on the day.  That way anything that happens we can control and most of all everyone involved is protected.

When actually shooting a scene. Again, I wore a high vis to ensure this was all controlled. In the distance, you can see Alex in the distance preparing to inform the public also.

Shooting outside was actually not as bad as I first thought. I thought that the location would be busy but it was dead. I suppose at around 10 everyone was at work anyway so it weren't that bad.  

Production - Lecture Room Shoot Review and Justifications

Shot List for the day

The first day filming was eye opening in commencing our major production shoot. There were a few things on the day that proved to be more difficult that it should have been. The main factor being that we had our time cut on the day because the previous group overran by 45 minutes, this gave us even less time to prepare for the shoot. However, all extras turned up and made it exceptional for us to shoot on. 

A big thing for me was to make sure that I direct extras, It was tough because I'm not exactly great at talking to a big crowd, but I managed it in the end and I was impressed with the outcome. Spacing the theatre out so it looked like it was in use but not too spaced to the point we couldn't get coverage was essential. It helped that the guys who were in there were students studying film so they were very understanding in shooting films and were patient when it went a bit wrong. 

Directing the room and briefing the extras

Once the extras were briefed on the story and what to expect the shots to look like. I wanted to ensure that I got max coverage in the room but also ensure we met the time constraints that were looming overhead. 

I gave Phil Gomm creative freedom on what he was talking about but basically said 'narrow it down to the use of laptops in the modern era, and end with finishing up the lecture'. It allowed Phil to really embrace the role and sink his teeth in, as he is a media tutor he has a great knowledge of this subject. 

Phil Gomm MCU Pre-Colour Grade

Lights....

Camera....

ACTION!

Below was a wider shot of the two at the back and how we set it up. The Lights in the room worked really well anyway as they created a realistic lighting in the room that spotlighted the actors in question perfectly. 

WS Jimmy Sleeping Set UP

WS Jimmy Sleeping Actual Pre Grade

Overall, the shots that were taken met my expectations. I was unhappy with how unprofessional UCA were in the booking of the lecture theatre and they made our task that one step harder which was a shame, however, we picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and made it the best shoot we could. 

Reviewing a shot from camera assisstant Sam

From the shoot day, Charlie assembled a quick cut from the footage to create the whole scene based on the storyboard created. Please note that it hasn't been colour graded or much sound design at all just there to created what the scene would look like and tell the story.

From this video I also created a video justification in which i explained the methodologies behind all of the shots and why I chose to do so.