Fiction Adaptation: Project Evaluation

I was very much looking forward to this unit after two factual programming units previously. I find dramatic pieces more interesting to write for and film and so was excited about this one. The brief itself was to adapt a piece of literary material - in this case a poem and transform it into film. From the list of poems we were given, I chose 'Building a Second Home as it Sinks into the Sea' by Antosh Wojcik. This poem stood out to me because the imagery was so graphic and unusual. I was also drawn to his choice of location - the beach. I had a few brainstorms about how to approach it and  realised I was thinking about it in a very 2D sense. In order to make sense of the poem, I decided to write a narrative for it, interpreting it in my own way. This allowed me to make it my own and give me the room to be as creative as possible.
I based the poem around two sisters - one of which is struggling to come to terms with an ended relationship. However, the ex boyfriend, described as a mannequin in the poem is still lingering around and haunting her and her thoughts. I had intended to show this through him ignoring her as a method of rejection to show that he wasn't loving towards her in the relationship. Once the process of filming had begun, ways of showing this took many forms. I had written into the script that the main character - Millie wakes up from a dream to find him sleeping next to her, however, he is unresponsive to her cries. Later in a flashback, she goes to grab his hand and he pulls it away. Filming these scenes were tricky but I wanted them to look quite abstract and symbolic.
In terms of the pre-production, finding actors proved difficult. In the end I had the option to have an actress for Imogen's part and Ida and Troy along side them. However, I decided as I was having two members from UCA - Ida and Troy to be in the film, it would make sense to ask someone else from the class to be the third actor as I thought they would feel more confident with people they know. This was a good decision I feel as they were all very willing and conveyed the actions very well. I decided to steer away from a beach location even though the poem is set there. I decided that I could create the same imagery using the Riverside in Maidstone - which turned out to be very quiet and remote, perfect for filming.
In the end, I filmed on two occasions after my rough cut viewing. I decided that it was necessary in order to get enough coverage for the scene and am very pleased I decided to do so. The shoots themselves were very easy and straightforward, as the material wasn't too challenging to achieve.
I would say that the editing was the most challenging aspect of this unit. I changed the arrangement of the scenes quite a few times to try and achieve a good balance between ensuring the narrative of the piece came across whilst trying to not be too literal with the imagery and keep a montage element to it. In reflection, I am happy with the result and think it reflects my vision for the film, even with a few tweaks to the layout and my original interpretation.

Fiction Adaptation: Fine Cut Viewing (Changes + Reflections)

Today I had a fine cut viewing with Helen for the fiction adaptation film. The feedback was mixed with Helen saying that the narrative of the story was coming across much better but that it could lend itself to some more montage as I working with such an abstract poem. I had originally started off with quite a montage approach, cutting between flashbacks and locations, in order to give it a more creative feel. However, from the rough cut viewing it was evident that the narrative was being lost. I reflected on this and decided to base the narrative around one location - the riverside and use a few flashbacks and visual imagery to pull it together. In reflection, I think that the narrative does come across throughout the scene and with a few sound adjustments, the elements of flashback should fit the edit. I have made a few adjustments to the cuts towards the start as Helen flagged up that there were a few sequencing issues. I have also played around with the sound design a little more and cut out the bedroom scene completely.
There are lots of corrections I would give myself for this scene, and although it does reflect what I visioned for it, I think that a few of the scenes could have been more well thought out. The first half of the edit was carefully mapped out so that the imagery fitted the words of the poem and there was a general sense of wariness of the character Troy is playing. However, having to think on my feet a little for the second shoot day meant that I had to piece together some of the footage I had for the second half and hope it worked with the poem when it came to editing.

Fiction Adaptation: Editing (Progress + Development)

I have been making progress with the edit since I filmed on Monday as I had lots more footage to work with. I decided to keep what I had edited for the rough cut on premiere but start a new edit and plan to slot in sequences from it. I have been finding the imagery quite easy to work with and it has been sequencing nicely. However, with the change in arrangements, I have had to think on my feet a little about how to compose some of the imagery around the words of the poem. For example when the poet says 'We are throwing stones into Brighton's ocean lips while we try to solve each problem'. Originally I had decided to show Ida comforting an upset Imogen when she wakes up from her dream. As I am now framing most of it around the bench scene, I have decided to keep this section very simple with them just looking out into the river in thought and reflection. There are also a few lines towards the end of the poem which I have had to edit as I go along.

In terms of colour correction, I decided to work with the cooler tone of the footage from the second day of filming which was a lot greyer due to rainy weather. I think this works nicely with the scene at the beginning where Troy is watching them from afar. It was difficult to edit the colouring on the original footage as it was a lot brighter and had more contrast. However, with a few tweaks to the tone, it doesn't differ too much. For the sound design, I have kept the atmospheric sound throughout as I think it works well with the scene. I have also incorporated a few sound effects to bring more life to it. For example when we see Troy in the distance, I found some copyrighted music which instantly tells the audience that they should be wary of him. 

Fiction Adaptation: Recording V.O

Yesterday I recorded the voice over audio for the fiction adaptation unit with Imogen. I had deliberated over who to choose for the voice over, whether I would do it as the storyteller or I would choose one of the actors. I liked the idea of using my own voice to narrate it from an outsiders perspective, however, I didn't really want to listen to it played back. I decided to choose Imogen who plays the main character in the film. It made sense to have her voice as the poem centres around her and there were a few occasions that said 'my sister', which I think works well with Imogen's voice. We recorded the voice over at the studios as the rooms are relatively sound proofed and we have access to good quality recording equipment. I decided to have the poem read out line by line with gaps in between to allow me to edit them as close together as i'd like when editing. I said the line first and Imogen repeated it to get the tone and tempo I was after. It was successful and the audio came out very clear.

Critical Analysis - Hand In

Fiction Adaptation: Shoot Day 2 - 12th Dec

Today, I filmed again for the fiction adaptation film. After a rough cut viewing, I chose to change the arrangement of the scenes and base the majority of the film around the scene at the bench with the other scenes as flashbacks throughout. To do this I needed more coverage of the scene at the bench including more cutaway shots of the environment and lots of reaction shots with the Imogen and Ida. I have also changed some of the imagery with Troy so that he will feature more throughout. We all met at the Riverside again to shoot, with Imogen, Ida and Troy doubling as crew to help me set up. Unfortunately the weather was very different to the first day filming which means I will have to do some colour correcting in the editing stage.
I filmed plenty of cutaways and establishing shots to start with, and got plenty of coverage of Troy. I filmed him far away on the bridge and above looking over the rails so it would look as if he were over seeing from afar. I also paid close attention to keep his face out of shot to create a little more suspense and keep his identity unknown. I also made sure I got plenty of close ups of Imogen, as this will allow me to cut to her reactions. After looking at the footage, I am happy with how it looks and I now have plenty to work with for the edit.

Fiction Adaptation: Shot List 2

I have written another shot list for filming on Monday. I have changed the arrangements of the scenes somewhat which requires me to film some more footage. I decided to base it around the Riverside scene which means I needed a few more shots. I have also decided to cut out some of the bedroom scenes which meant thinking about ways to demonstrate the meaning of the poem in a new location.

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Fiction Adaptation: Scene Changes + Development

After my meeting and rough cut viewing with Helen on Tuesday, I have decided to change the structure of the scenes in the film. Originally, I was focussing on the words of the poem which meant that in order to make sense of them, I decided to flick between locations, giving it a very montage feel. However, Helen said when watching the individual scenes one after the other, it was very difficult to follow and understand, with the narrative being completely lost. In reflection, I completely agree and think that I should simplify this considerably to ensure that the audience understands the narrative.

With Helen and Sam's advice, I have chosen to centre the film around the conversation that Ida and Imogen have at the Riverside. We will see them walk there, supposedly to discuss the problems highlighted later on. I will then use the other elements from the flashback with Troy and Imogen walking down the street and the scenes in bedroom with the mess to represent her destruction and realising she is alone which will cut in between. I plan to re-film on Monday at the Riverside to get some more cutaway shots of the location as well as more coverage of the characters. I particularly want to focus on the reactions of Imogen and Ida to make sense of the flashbacks.
The idea of the mannequin will be represented differently. Originally, Imogen wakes up and he is next to her but unresponsive. When looking at the footage it was very difficult to cut it to look like she had dreamt it and distinguishing between a dream sequence and real life proved challenging. Therefore I plan to use a reflection in the water and Troy standing in the distance as a figure to represent the menacing 'mannequin', as if he's following her and she feels like she can't escape him. I think this will work better and will be less confusing for the audience.

Fiction Adaptation: Rough Cut Edit + Feedback

Yesterday, I had a rough cut edit viewing with Helen and Sam to give me some feedback on the edit so far. I had filmed on Monday which meant that I hadn't had much time to edit before the viewing but wanted to show them something so I could start working towards it before Thursday with the feedback they gave me. I had managed to edit a few of the scenes roughly, without the voice over which made it a little more difficult to interpret. One thing I noticed straight away when editing was that I felt like there wasn't quite enough footage as I felt like the cuts were too drastic and could do with more coverage.
Helen agreed and said that she felt like the narrative was a bit confusing with the location changes. I had tried to follow the flow of the poem and make the words fit the images which I thought made the location changes justifiable. However, they said that rather than giving the story more meaning, it confused it too much. To work from this, I plan to base the narrative of the story around the bench scene so that that represents present time where the two characters have come to talk and reflect and the flashbacks will be the scenes with Imogen and Troy as she is remembering how he made her feel. I think that the flashbacks will work before the lines of dialogue when they're sitting at the bench as this will show a reaction to them, giving the scene some background. In terms of filming, I plan to re film on Monday next week, just at the riverside to enable me to expand on this scene so it can be the basis of the story. I would also like to capture some more GVs of the area as these will work as cutaways for the scene.

Fiction Adaptation: Shoot Day - 5th Dec

Yesterday, I filmed the fiction adaptation piece in Maidstone. We met at Ida's house as that was one of the locations and this would allow for easy set up. Troy and Imogen met us there. I briefed each member of the cast about their characters, to give them more depth than the script could provide. I also gave them the schedule for the day and when and where I wanted to film. We set up the equipment in the kitchen where there was plenty of space. In terms of the schedule, I filmed the flashback scene including Imogen and Troy first, using the street outside for this which was very quiet with plenty of space on the path. I decided to film this section handheld as the characters were walking forward and I wanted to be able to gather a few close ups of their expressions that I could cut to. However, after looking at my footage I realised we hadn't put the rode mic on and so this scene unfortunately has no sound. However, I plan to edit in some sound from another scene and possibly find some road sounds to give it a realistic feel.

We then moved onto the bedroom scenes. These were relatively straight forward to film, however, I had a few problems with lighting as there was only one window and it was very sunny providing quite a lot of glare. We played around with various options as I had booked out a lighting kit which did allow me to light Imogen's face separately without having to rely only on natural light. I also had a few space restrictions when filming inside which was expected with a bedroom. However, I got round this by doing a few handheld shots for close ups and organising the space a little better to give me more to work with. The final location for filming was at Maidstone Riverside which I had planned to do last. We arrived and set up the equipment, choosing a bench which was in the quietest area to avoid obstructing the path for the public. This scene was the most comfortable to film as I had plenty of space and could experiment with the shots I had planned for the shoot. 

In reflection, the shoot day was successful, allowing me to finish on time with the schedule with all of the shots I had planned, despite a few issues with space. I would say that this shoot day highlighted that I need to work on my sound management in future as I filmed the flashback scene without any sound at all, therefore giving myself more work in the edit. I think that writing an equipment checklist for setting up would be a good way of ensuring that everything is set up properly before filming. 

Fiction Adaptation: Call Sheet and Schedule

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I have written a Call Sheet with a schedule for the shoot on Monday. It is important to write a call sheet as it provides you with a list of all the crew and contributors so you can contact them when you need to. The schedule will also allow me to keep in track of time to ensure I don't over run and end up with scenes un shot. I have tried to leave plenty of time between walking to a new location and setting up so that the times will be realistic. I will be giving each crew member and contributor a copy of the call sheet to refer to if they need it.