Re-shooting/Re-editing

I re-filmed the footage for my video with Laura and Jack in Rochester. The general plot and events of the video were incredibly similar to before as my character Natalie is still making her way to the train station. I wanted to do the filming roughly in chronological order so that the clips would be easy to find and edit without having to rummage around the folder looking for the right ones. We started in the morning at the halls for the Uni. Once I had looked through my storyboards, I decided that the very first scene where she is looking through her things in her room didn't add anything to the story and would be unnecessary. Therefore, I decided that the first shot would be Laura opening the front door to the flat and checking her watch before beginning her journey to the station. I wanted the shots to be quite fast paced as she is late and is struggling to get there in time. I covered quite a wide variety of shots that would show her walking there in the most interesting and visually exciting way. I used a few different locations on the way including the a tunnel near the halls and the station itself. However, as I had to shoot within a few days I could not get permission to film in the station and had to compromise by filming with my own camera for the shots of Laura running up the stairs and onto the platform before boarding the train. There is no dialogue in the video which means that the only thing we discover about her as a character is that she late for her train but I think this creates a bit of intrigue and hopefully will evoke some interest from the audience as to who she is and why she is so desperate to make her train in time. I also wanted to capture some natural sounds such as cars driving past and the sound of her shoes on the stairs to create quite a natural rhythm that gives you the impression of ongoing movement and the idea of a journey taking place. When editing, I found that I had covered quite a good variety of shots which was useful because I had quite a lot to work with so that I could choose the best ones. I found that when editing them together in a sequence, it was much easier to make the cuts flow well, whereas most of the shots in the previous footage where the location was changing all the time were much harsher. I also learnt some new things about Adobe Premiere from editing my footage the first time which allowed me to edit much more efficiently and with ease the second time.

I had my second viewing with Simon yesterday and he pointed out that with only footage showing Laura, you do not get any sense of a meeting between two people. This is because in the first two minutes of my script, she does not come into contact with the character John. However, he suggested that I filmed a few short clips of a man waiting at the station already. In contrast with Laura who is rushing, he would be calm and collected with the final shot being of him getting on the train after Laura. I filmed those clips with Josh at Rochester station. The character of John is dark haired and smartly dressed so Josh fitted the criteria for the part. I managed to get a couple of waiting shots of him sitting on a bench waiting and then looking at his phone before getting on the train. When editing this clips in, I think it works quite nicely, contrasting with Laura rushing through the station in comparison to him being completely relaxed, already waiting there. I also think that the final shot of him getting on the train creates suspense, almost leaving it on a cliff hanger as the audience are left thinking about when they will meet and for what reason.