Peer Feedback

Although I didn't manage to meet up with everyone due to my work load, I still met up with the majority of the unit. I mainly spoke to them about myself and how I have a permanent frown. Also discussed how easily irritated I am and assured them it was nothing personal (The sound of people breathing annoys me as well). I discussed what they should do if any problems come up on set (find me). And lastly I explained that I'm there to support everyone on set. So no one should feel hesitant when approaching me with a film-related or even personal problem.  I them asked them a few questions and even noted down what a few of them said.

The writing is colour coded to mean the following :

How they feel about their role

What they would like from me on set

Worries or concerns

Kiran - Clapper

Satisfied with role but would have preferred a different one.

Confirm shooting schedule day before

Be louder on set

Speak to director and dop about shots himself.

Everyone waiting on him to start the next take

Joe - Props

Extremely Happy with role

Send people to help him dress the set.

Worried about getting the Quadbike/Side car

Lewis - Caterer

Happy with role, likes working independently.

Remind people not to eat food until he says it's ok

People's attitude - moral boosts

Respect on set

Louis - Script Super

Ok with role, would like to give it a go

.

Add him to check call after each take

Allow him to be next to the monitor

Announce shots as we go along

November

05.11.12

Hannah and I had a meeting with Matt Stromen. He was one of the ADs for last year's feature film. He gave us a few tips :

Preparation is key !

Help sort out locations asap

Camera maps/ plans

Tell everyone the schedule at start of each day

Add additional items on schedule

Don't be afraid to be stern with crew if needed

It was a good meeting and I definitely be using some the tips he gave us. It was nice speaking to someone who has already been through that process. It sounded like he got a lot of out feature film personally and that is exactly what I want as well. It's about learning and filmmaking but it's also about personal development.

WHAT I DID

In terms of scheduling, I arranged scenes from our part of the script into day/night categories. Because the film is set over one day , most of the scenes are in the morning and afternoon with the wedding reception in the evening.

I also split up scenes depending on what locations they were in within Boldon Hall. I did this so I'm aware of the different set changes that happen within Boldon Hall meaning I can schedule all the same locations together to save time on shoot days. And also to make it easy for the location scouters to find venues which are suitable. Although it's not a catastrophe if we don't find a venue with all the locations in the script.

PRODUCTION MEETINGS

13.11.12

During the meeting we discussed people's thoughts about the script split and their worries and concerns about the shoot as well as what they were looking forward to the most. Overall most people were slightly disappointed we didn't get the 'fun' side of the script but were also looking forward to shooting a wedding. I reassured the crew that our shoot would be just as fun as UNIT 1's and that we were lucky to be spending the majority of our time inside.

I also approached each department made notes about what each had to say. Not all unit members were present. Some good questions arose and I tried my best to answer all of them.

Questions           Answers         

Director

Concerned about trying to make small crowds look large. Looking forward to shoot.

Camera

Thinks our part of the script is as less exciting but we have more room to experiment as we'll be in a large controlled environment.

Production Design

Will set design be left at the location untouched or will it be set up each day ? We will need to dress the set each day as the location we find will probably be a functioning one, meaning they'll have events going on while we're shooting.

How much time will it take to set up ? I'll calculate a suitable amount of time once I work out how long I takes us as a unit to get things done. I'll be evaluating the dry runs to reach this conclusion.

Will there be loads of extras and do I need to find costumes for them ? There should be quite a few extras but they will need to bring their own costumes as we can't afford it. Only main cast get costumes. Also, any costumes which you think main cast members can provide themselves should be noted down. We need to save as much money as possible.

I shall be asking Sam to come on our set to help with Prod design on days when we have lots of cast members to deal with.

Sound

Concerned about acoustics in halls which the wedding might be held in.

Will there be an ADR schedule ? Yes. It depends if Joe wants me schedule ADR or if he'd rather do that himself. you'll be notified.

Will we be logging our own sound?  Yes, luckily there are two of you. One can operate, one can mix and log. You can swap the roles between you however and whenever you like as long as what needs doing gets done.

Catering

How many people will I need to cater for each day ? Once I break down the script I'll know cast numbers for each scene and once the schedule is done I'll give you crew + cast numbers for each day.

Clapper

Wants to be sent a daily shooting schedule.

One general problem that came up was whether shoot days would clash with other lectures. I'll try to work around everyone's schedule but when taking crew, cast, location and transport availability into consideration some things are bound to clash. I need to speak to lecturers to see if other modules can be missed for shoot day. I'll try and avoid this but it seems inevitable when we only have  a 4 weekday window to shoot in.

Crew also asked about shooting on the weekend. I said I would try and avoid this but if there was no other solution then it'll have to be done. However I'll be giving loads of notice so people have a chance to sort things out.

AUDITIONS

First set of auditions were held on the 30th ( a little too late if you ask me). I went to help out. It was my job to escort auditioned to the right room so I didn't get a chance to see any of them perform. However a girl auditioning for the part of Natalie came early so I went to another room with her to research. She was absolutely adorable and I hope she gets chosen.

November was the month for me to start getting things in order. Now that pitch films are over and we all have fixed roles for the feature, it's time to start getting some serious work done. We don't have long at all and I hope everyone else puts in the same effort I'm going to. I want this film to be a success but we all need to work hard else it'll be a failure. There is absolutely no room for slacking.

I Am Now a First Assistant Director

I really looked forward to the pitch film screenings. I wanted to see the other films and compare them to ours to see if we actually did a good job or if I imagined all of it. But what I really wanted to know was whether I had gotten the role or not.

The film which stood out the most for me was 'Something Blue' mainly because Joe's little brother is adorable but also because it well edited and looked nicer than the others (I'm a fan of blue). Next would be Peter's film as it had a very interesting storyline although it did feel dull at times. I think our film was the best, I'm not even being big headed it's just a fact. I feel like we worked harder than any other group and therefore deserve that victory.

So after the break we came back to find out if we had gotten our roles or not. I remember feeling quite scared. My heart was pumping very hard and I didn't even want to look at  the screen. I was sat next to McDonald and I had to hold his hand because he was shaking so much. I think I was more devastated than him when he didn't get director. I even cried for him so he wouldn't have to. At that point, I thought it was an insult to make him a clapper but thinking about it now, he might actually have one of the best roles. He gets to be on set everyday an enjoy the shoot without any creative or organizational worries. He might be lucky.

I was extremely happy for my peers who had gotten the  roles they wanted. I was so proud so Santa, I knew how hard she had worked on the film even though the end product didn't fully show it because of editing issues. I was also happy for Webster, I really wanted them both to get the roles.

I almost screamed out when Hannah's name came before mine. I was going a bit a crazy…I didn't why her name was there when she had been a producer for the pitch film. I honestly thought I hadn't got it until my name came up. I was in shock for a few seconds and then I became extremely happy. Euphoric almost. I couldn't stop grinning. Then we saw what units we were in and I was over the moon. I had most of my closest friends in my unit but not my best friend which was a great thing. I don't think me and Santa would be able to work together on a project like feature with our roles. We would constantly clash and fight.

I can't believe it. Hard work actually does pay off. I'm sooo proud of myself and the other members of CineCitta for getting the roles  we wanted. I have never been this excited about work before. Now that I've been given the chance, I'll have a lot to prove and I'm ready. If I could stay as happy as I was when I found out I had gotten AD forever, I would never ask for anything else again.

SCRIPT

My first impression of the feature script is not a good one. I haven't read it throughout yet but what I've read so far is enough. I don't think it's good, mainly because it's supposed to be a rom/com but I didn't even crack a smile while reading the first few pages. They all just seemed like cheap jokes. Penis drawing on his face…Really ?  But regardless of my opinion, I'm still willing to make (we don't really have a choice do we). I just hope the directors can bring out 'the funny' in it.

IMDB

Our pitch film is on IMDB I didn't think I'd get my name on there this soon. 

'Something New' - 08.10.2012

Production Meeting

08.10.12

We had a meeting today to discuss final cast members and also prepare for the shoot later on in the week. Everyone was nervous as well as excited for the shoot. I was worried that we weren't prepared enough which such little time between casting and the shoot but everyone reassured me it would be ok.

An issue that concerns me is that we have not yet cast an older Elliot for the final scene. Hannah and Liam are working on this so it should be sorted out soon. But it means I can't schedule that scene in anywhere yet until I know the actors availability.

What I did this week

After cast availability was given to me, I started on the Shooting schedule right away. Turns out it wasn't that different from the rough version. Just had to make a few minor adjustments.

We altered the script one last time to make it perfect.

I finally had all the information I needed to fill out call sheets. I created call sheets for all days scheduled and posted them in the group stating that they were rough copies but the times would not change so everyone could pencil them in their diaries. The child actors both went to school and were only available from 5 on weekends. This seemed like an issue at first, but I was able to schedule around that by planning to shoot their night scenes on Thursday and Friday evening. This meant we would still be able to shoot on weekdays which should save us a lot of time and energy during the weekend.

SHOOT

DAY 1 - 11.10.12

Today started off very well. We came on set very prepared and ready to start the shoot. Once the entire crew had arrived, I read the shooting schedule to them. We then started on set design and gave Domenica a hand with putting up posters and dressing the bed. After prod design was done, I got Webster to set up the camera for the first shot. Once this was done Liam was able to set up his lights.

 Curtis aka Elliot arrived on time and I sent him straight to Domenica to get into costume. When he was done I sent him to Ben while I made sure we were ready to start on set.

We started on time and worked through scene 2 very quickly. Curtis was amazing, he had read the script and knew all of his lines. Everyone was on the ball which made my job a lot easier. We also managed to shoot scenes 9 and 11 fairly quickly as well and ended up finishing quite a bit ahead of schedule which seemed to please everyone.

Throughout the shoot I made sure I let everyone know how long we had left till a break or how many shots of the scene we had left to shoot. I think everyone appreciated this because I was like a personal. They could fully concentrate on what they were doing without being distracted by time. I also tried to keep an eye out for any health and safety hazzards and had to pack extension wires and such to the side at times.

Nothing happened today which particularly worried me or stood out. When I called for silence on set everyone listened. The shoot flew by so quickly and effortlessly. I had no problems what so ever and actually enjoyed the shoot. It was nice to watch everything coming together finally. We couldn't have been better prepared. Although it was our first shoot day, to me, it felt like we had been working together for months. There's something about our group that works really well.

DAY 2 - 12.10.12

Today was the same as yesterday, everything felt effortless and right. I kept to my routine as it worked very well yesterday. So prod design first, camera set up and then lights. Like yesterday  Alex Labelle set up his sound kit as soon as he arrived and then helped everyone else.

We were working with only Joshua aka Alex and he really delivered. We only shot 1 scene which took no time at all and then went on to ADR. Once again we finished early.

I don't know if I'm giving us too much time or if we're just working extremely well. Regardless, it's all working out for the best.

One thing I will say is that it didn't really feel like a shoot because we just shot the one scene. But Joshua was the only cast member available so I thought it would be good to get his scenes over and done with. So although it was an exciting or hard shoot, it was still an efficient one.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because we get to work with more cast members. It will also be interesting to see what the adults who have been on quite a few shoots and sets, think about us. I highly doubt they'll be disappointed.

DAY 3 - 13.10.12

We were supposed to shoot all the exterior scenes in the day but it's Alex's birthday and he's having a party, so I had to move those scenes to tomorrow.  It meant it was another late start for us but both the crew and cast are not complaining.

I went through the usual routine. Everyone helped with production design today as we had to dress an entire living room (wall paper and everything). By the time we were finished it looked amazing. You actually felt like you were in a genuine 70's living room.

Once the cast arrived, I sent them straight into hair, makeup and costume and then Ben.

We worked at a quick pace again today. Not as quickly as the previous days but we had more cast members to deal with and a lot more to look out for. I'm starting to think we are machines.

One problem that presented itself was continuity during the dinner scene. Keeping drink levels and amount of food on plates consistent was a task we all took part in.

Another problem was Ben's directing. He spent a lot of time talking to cast members today and I had to rush him a little. I think we started a few minutes late because of this.

I think I'll mention it to him in private before we start shooting tomorrow. It's not a major problem and I realise everyone has their own way of directing but sometimes he'll say the same thing about 4 times by phrasing it differently which is just unneeded with adult and experienced actors.

DAY 4- 14.10.12

Today was our hardest yet most fun day. We spent the majority of the afternoon outside by the park shooting all the exterior scenes in the film and then went back inside to shoot some interior night scenes. It was just like the other days despite having so much more to get through. 

We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

01.10.12

Production Meetings

04.10.12

We discussed a variety of things with the Executive Producers today.  I'll just write a list of things I noted down.

Find out accurate info about how long children can work.

The university owns a box of filters - See of that can be borrowed.

A little hairspray on the posters will dull reflections. In 1970s posters were not glossy.

Camera maps can only be done after storyboards and shot list.

I need to note down any location movements for each shoot day.

Get in contact with Alan Rolinson - Collector of 70's merchandise.

Let Liam be script super on set - need someone to deal with continuity.

Sort out final shooting schedule.

Create Call Sheet template.

What I Did This Week

I started script breakdowns with Ben this week. We went through the entire script and broke down each scene by props, costumes, music, equipment, cast, location and a few other things. We managed to fill out breakdown sheets for every scene so on each shoot day, I'll know exactly who and what is needed. It's funny how I knew nothing about breakdown sheets before I started research for this module. They are very convenient and I'm extremely happy I discovered them. Definitely going to be using them on future shoots.

I also made a list of the different needed for the film and sent this to everyone so they could start looking. It was decided quite quickly that we would shoot in Hannah's house for all the interior locations. Conveniently there is also a park near her house so that might be used for the exterior location after Ben and Web go and scout.

The walkie talkies came this week so we had a bit of fun playing around with them. I love how excited the execs were about the walkie talkies, had never seen Chris Leonard smile that much before.

 

I sent an e-mail to Alan Rolinson regarding the 70's merchandise and this was my reply.

I told Wobs this and he was quite confused. The merchandise was a luxury really. we have enough props to pull off a period scene I think. Regardless I've told everyone to find at least 1 70's looking prop.

We held AUDITIONS on the 5th. We used a room on the third floor as the sound stage was unavailable. It went quite well I think. We only had a few turn up, but I think we'll manage to cast the majority of characters. The child actors were amazing but 2 really stood out and I had feeling Ben would cast them for the role of Alex and Elliot. Which he did.

I also created a rough shooting schedule this week. I tried to keep the days fairly balanced as it's the first proper shoot for most of us. I have no idea how well and fast we'll work on set so didn't want to cram too much into one day and fall behind.

I also created a Call Sheet template. I found old call sheets from wraith in my e-mail and use those as a reference. It didn't take long to create once I knew what had to be included. I also requested a CineCitta logo from Liam so I could put it on my paperwork. I just thought it would make them more professional - which it did.

Thoughts of The Week

This week felt quite relaxed to the previous one. I've realised that I'll be doing A LOT of paperwork and I've accepted that. It's kind of fun in a weird way. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks already and I'm still on top of everything. I thought I would struggle with organisation but I seem to be in my comfort zone. Everyone keep telling me what a good job I'm doing which makes me extremely happy.

I'm feeling very positive about this. I'm also really enjoying myself. This is what film making is all about. It's a completely vibe from last year. I enjoy waking up and doing paperwork, meeting with my team and working together to achieve one goal.

"I hope this euphoric phase lasts because I'm loving every moment of it"

Also, I would upload all my paperwork, but there is just too much so I'll just add screen grabs where relevant. 

24.09.12

Production Meetings

24.09.12

We had our first production meeting today. Everyone made it and we actually managed to get a lot done. We started by establishing the rules that our film has to abide by

Theme: love

Title: 'Something New' (Must include dream sequence & period piece)

5-7 Minutes including titles. 

IDEA(S)

(AVOID CHEESE) Merge period scene & dream sequence together - 

LIAM  

1. Two little boys (70's - tale of friendship continued in future)
2. Two For Joy (Boy sees a magpie "one for sorrow" and makes it his mission to find a second magpie "two for joy" - instead he finds the love of his life (joy/love)

 ALEX 

1. Love Bed (You love your bed, what if your bed loved you),

2. Walkie talkie - two friends, childhood friends - one dies (car crash perhaps), one day the living boy hears his walkie talkie, his dead friend speaks (late 80's/early 90's). 

HANNAH 

Receiving new computer (Elderly person introduced to technology - finds family tree, reunited with old relative)

RACHEL 

Premonitional dreaming (Speaking with the dead when dreaming - attached to dead lover 

(climactic reveal),

The idea we all agreed to expand and explore - KEY IDEA - (ALEX) - Walkie Talkie boys. 

"Two boys (70's) childhood friends, they frequently speak via walkie-talkie regardless of being neighbours - we see them play and develop a relationship - one of the boys dies (car crash, illness, falling from tree), the surviving boy distraught - desperately, tries to talk in his walkie talkie - to his amazement, his friend speaks...... 

His friend speaks for a while, eventually - the batteries in the device run out, so does his continuing relationship with the voice. 

Years pass by and the surviving boy is now an adult - he is married with kids and moving into a family home - as he is unpacking (moving) boxes, he discovers the walkie-talkie - he smiles, curiosity takes the better of him and tries new batteries - the walkie talkie emits white noise. 

The Camera cuts" (written by Liam Swann)

My idea was chosen as the back up.

Incorporating love: Traditional, rom-com, Bromance, unconditional, couple, affair, romantic, family, break-up. 

Film References

Mystic River, Stand By Me, (500) days of summer, The Road, Waiting for Godot, The Man Who Fell From The Moon, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind,

The division of Gravity (love this short - here's the link

25.09.12

Today's production meeting was quite short. We only met up to discuss our film idea in more detail.

It was agreed that Liam would write up a rough draft of the script then hand it over to Ben for approval, who would then hand it to me to edit. So it's basically become my job to say what I think we can shoot and what we can't. FUN.

We also established what each crew member was responsible for and how long we had to get each task done. I took it upon myself to put this information on a spreadsheet.

26.09.12

Today's meeting was again short. We all seem to know what we're doing now and mainly keep in contact over facebook.

We also came up with a Log-Line for 'Something New'

'A young boy is amazed when the voice of his recently dead friend speaks to him through a toy walkie-talkie'

What I Did This Week

I did quite a few things this week. I started by getting everyone's availability and putting it into a colour coded sheet. This made it easier for me to see when various crew members were available. I discovered that our schedules are a bit all over the place. It might be quite challenging to sort out shoot days.

I also created a 'task' spreadsheet. This showed what part of Pre-production each crew member was responsible and how long they had to get things done. I find it easier to read things when they are on a spreadsheet and it's so convenient to have one sheet jam packed with so much information. Makes it easier to compare documents.

More paperwork - I also created a rough production schedule for the meeting with the Execs on Thursday. I understand that as we identify more issues and things move forward it will change. But it's nice to have something rough to refer to.

I wrote my back - up script for 'Something New' and have it ready in case our first plan falls through. It's a nice simple idea which can easily be produced in a few days. I'm quite happy with the story idea and Webster has spoken to me about possibly shooting it at the end of 2nd year.

The script was sent out early this week. I think I did about 3 re-writes this week. I didn't change the story, just cut out scenes I felt were unnecessary and other just would just not be possible to shoot within our budget and time limit (ie - a funeral set in the 70s, Young boy coming home to an ambulance outside his house. I also cut down on a lot of the dialogue some of it was really 'on-the-nose'. I didn't cut everything I had in mind because of Ben and Liam's objections but we all compromised and agreed on the final product.

Now that I have what seems to be the 'final version' of the script, I can start breaking it down with Ben. Discovered some great Breakdown sheets on this online site I found for Film production paperwork templates - http://www.docstoc.com/search/film-production?catfilter=1

I've also broken down the script a little without Ben. I just divided the scenes up into Days and Nights.  

Thoughts of The Week

I was very happy with my performance this week. I managed to stay on top of all my work and even had time to help others with theirs. It's good to get off to a good start because you get an instant confidence boost. I feel like I'm finally proving my worth. It's nice to complimented by course mates.

 It was a bit disappointing in the exec meeting when Chris thought we had set the bar quite high for ourselves and could possibly fail. We are all very determined to make this film great. We work well together and the presentation of what we have done so far should have been more than enough to convince the Execs that we're very prepared for this. I love how excited they were about the walkie talkies, had never seen Chris Leonard smile that much before.

I think for the first time I'm really connecting with my peers. We all want the same thing as this point (Make a great pitch film + get preferred role for feature) and that makes it easy for us to relate to each other. I think we're going to do quite well with this film - I have a good feeling.

Overall it was a great week which kind of foreshadowed what is to come. If we continue working this hard, I have no worries about actually shooting this film.