Talking to Luke

Luke and Matt have come to class to check the estate of our ideas and what is needed from them, thinking ahead about the day of the shoot after Christmas. We did an outline of the story line once more, making sure that Luke, who has never heard of us before, was aware of the technical part. As a group, we also tried to sell the idea so they would find it easier to collaborate and put more effort into it as organisers. 

In the beginning, they were a bit unsure about the attractiveness of having only one continuous shot, though they also saw its creative appeal. They suggested that we did some panning around the room from time to time. However, eventually they asked for some graphic support and I provided them with my works, this is, my setting design and what I have from the storyboard so far. Their response made me feel extremely proud because they immediately changed their mind about our project and started truly liking it: apparently, they could now picture it perfectly thanks to me. 

Once we had convinced them, we showed them a list of the details we need for a realistic setting. They have everything that we've thought about in the Studio already, except for a cupboard. Nevertheless, Katie heard that we were having trouble with that detail and went out to ask Mike and Adam, an action after which everything is sorted. We should be almost ready to shoot by now.

Storyboard

After so much time and effort, I have finished our storyboard. It was tricky to do it because most of our sequence is going to be filmed continuously, so there weren't any real changes in angle or major movements. However, I think that I did a clear account of everything that we want to show and how we want to show it overall. I have tried to include many details of the set design, as well as the most relevant actors' changes of position. The storyboard also made me reflect on issues like lighting; Luke maintains that we should have a window somewhere in the set to give more clues to the audience about where is the action taking place. The glowy reflection of the snow in the parquet flooring would certainly be effective.

I am certainly satisfied with the work I have done, especially because I haven't had any actual help and it was my first complete storyboard to plan and illustrate. See it for yourselves! 

Elena, Ellis, Myles and Emma Storyboard from Katie Emily

Preliminary Task (Shooting)

This week, we have been given a scene with a simple storyboard which made it possible for us to be quite original due to the various options to shoot it. Nevertheless, it required at least five different shots to make it effective and realistic: 

• A wide short first. It is always safer to do this in the beginning because if an unexpected issue makes the rest of the filming difficult, at least we can tell the story. (1)
• An over-the-shoulder shot from one of the characters' back and vice versa. (2,3)
• A close-up of one of the characters' face and vice versa. (4,5)

I was in a group with Celine, Emma and Adri and we were assigned the studio as the venue where we would record the scene. We were extremely lucky because we already had a set prepared as a consequence! Adri and I soon got in charge of the technical aspects of the sequence, assembling the tripod and camera as we had been taught some days ago: meanwhile, Celine and Emma went on learning the script, though in the end they decided to be spontaneous and read the actual pages in front of the camera... Not that I didn't object, but one gets tired of fighting with a group of people who are not willing to work. So yes, the acting could have been taken much more seriously so it wouldn't involve as much work as it is going to require in the editing process. We are definitely going to see the storyboard through the screen, and the actresses laughing a couple of time though, no matter how much we crop the frames. 

On the other hand, I am very satisfied with the job that Adri and I did. We performed our task with the utmost efficiency, recalling all the pieces of advice that Matt and Paul had given us about the use of the cameras. We carefully planned the order in which we were going to get the different shots and, each time we changed position, we focused the camera as we had been taught previously. Moreover, we extended or lowered the tripod depending on which person or object we were going to film to make it look smoother, and we used the appropriate terminology to get everyone prepared for a new shot. 

We did all the shots that were compulsory for the actual completion of the task in 10-15 minutes, and then we decided to explore a bit further during the time we had left —half of it—. We did close shots of the door, a piece of furniture which appears both in the beginning and in the ending of the short sequence so it conveys a feeling of familiarity but also of the superficiality of the action that takes place inside the room. We also carried out the scene from the floor, recording the pieces of script being torn by Celine and stepped on as well —more drama—. 

At all times, we respected the 180 degree rule, which establishes an imaginary line between the characters in a dialogue that we shouln't cross, and we tried to encourage our actresses to match their actions each time we recorded the whole scene again from a different angle. Honestly, I don't know what we will encounter when we have to edit this, but I hope that we can achieve continuity throughout the whole video as well as getting a funny result, at least.

My biggest regret is not having played a bit with the lines and transformed the basic story into a gripping one with some effort and creativity. I heard that many other groups came up with brilliant ideas for their tasks even though we all have the same storyboard. Themes as varied as pregnancy came along the way, in fact, thanks to the versatile lines that we were given. I have learnt, anyway, that I need to be more firm next time we film and implement energy and work ethic among my peers. 

Another important lesson that I took out from this practice was that, in any media text, people in front and behind the camera have to work with coordination and cooperation in order to get a good result, while before shooting the Preliminary Task I thought that actors and the rest of the crew, other than the director and producer, would barely talk during the process of making a film. Communication is key!