MAJOR PROJECT: Production/Shoot Day 2

Exterior Scenes

Yesterday was our second shoot day out of 3. Again it was a later start for the cast as we needed to set up again. However, we were able to leave some of the set dressing up overnight as no-one else would be using the office space. We had a longer briefing to start off with where I covered some of the issues that we had experienced on Saturday and explained how we would tackle them. The first part of the shoot were interior Scenes 5a, 5 and 7a which ran to schedule. As we had extra time we decided to get coverage of any other interior shots with just Nik and Sophie to allow for any overruns elsewhere.

Crew

After we had dinner, all of the scenes were exterior and required it to be pitch black outside. We needed to shoot some extra shots from some of the scenes that we missed from the previous day so we made sure that there was time for this also. However, when it came to filming some of the exterior scenes from around 7pm, we did encounter some snowfall. We had just set up the equipment ready to shoot and the snow began to fall. Initially, we made a group decision to test out the two-shot to see if the snow could be seen on camera but it began to get heavier. During this point, I was feeling rather stressed about the schedule as we would already need to pick up some extra shots from the previous shoot day. However, I didn't want to de-motivate the team and so remained as positive as I could. We had to wait for about half an hour before the snowfall stopped completely and we were able to continue shooting. In the meantime, we had thought about attempting to film some of the exterior scenes in the garage without the garage lights on. However, we thought this would be too difficult to not light up the garage and make it obvious that the car was in fact in a garage. Thankfully, it didn't need to come to this as the snow fall had stopped.

Generally, it was a very successful day and I was pleased with the coverage we that we got despite the weather issues. I feel like as the Producer, I was less aware of ensuring that all of the contributors knew what they were doing as there was a much more relaxed atmosphere than on the first day, which happens with any shoot. As on the first day, I was still very conscious of the schedule and was strict with the time allowed for each scene. However, this was absolutely necessary to ensure that we didn't overrun or miss out on getting enough coverage across the first 2 shoot days which is crucial.

MAJOR PROJECT: Production/Shoot Day 1

On Saturday, we had our first day shooting 'Bobbie & Clive'. As we had to reschedule the shoot due to the snow, I was almost certain that 2 weeks later, there wouldn't be any weather problems at all! However, we have been having snowy conditions again but fortunately not so bad that we couldn't shoot this weekend.

'Bobbie & Clive' Clapper Board

The crew all arrived on time which was essential for the set up. There was quite a lot of set dressing that needed to take place which is why I scheduled a later start for the cast members as I didn't want them to wait around for us to set up. There were several jobs to do in preparation including organising the food which I did as soon as I arrived. The main office windows needed to be all blacked out to give the illusion we were shooting at night. To save time, I had already measured up the black card to the windows and labelled it all so that the process would be much more efficient and timely - this was carried out by myself and a couple of extra crew members. There was also the posters to be put up and markers applied to the floor which Josh carried out. Troy and Isaac were given the task of putting all of the cardboard boxes up and filling the top 2 with apples as we would be starting with the warehouse scene. The set dressing in general was quite a lengthy process which we knew it would be. However, it was vital that we completed it before schedule which we were able to do.

Scene 6

Camera Monitor

The first scene we shot was Scene 6 which takes place in the warehouse. Like on any shoot, this scene took the longest shooting time as it took time to set up and ensure that the Director and all of the actors were happy. Once we got into the swing of it, the rest of the scene went according to plan. As the Producer, I was ensuring that all of the contributors knew what they were doing and were feeling confident in their roles. Although I had seen the shot list, I was keeping a close eye on the monitor to ensure that all of the shots were in focus and framed properly. I also had the job of using the clapper board as all of the other crew members had other jobs to focus on and I was keen to do this job. We had a break for dinner which was approximately an hour long before shooting some of the exterior scenes which needed complete darkness. Scenes 1, 2 and 11 were a little behind schedule. I have had to move a couple of shots to the next shoot days as we ran out of time.
Overall, the shoot day was successful and we were able to all work quickly to clear the space and allow our crew members to go home on time. Although, it was a slow start due to the weather, I feel confident that we managed to overcome the issues and work to a professional standard.

MAJOR PROJECT: Quentin Tarantino/Poster Research

Whilst brainstorming ideas for the poster and the graphic design elements of the film, I have looked at the work of American Director and Writer - Quentin Tarantino. His films are renowned for their comedic and thrilling values, as well as his creative writing and unique visual style on screen. Some of his work has focussed on heists in particular which we took inspiration from. The first opening scene in Pulp Fiction where they are in the diner discussing a robbery is how we intend to set up our film. I like how at first you can't tell that they are talking about a heist, leaving the audience in the unknown. We intend to be clever about the dialogue in our opening scene in the car to only drop subtle hints and not make it obvious that they have planned a heist.

Reservoir Dogs Poster

Kill Bill Poster

I researched Tarantino's work in particular to examine some of his film posters. I remember some of them from memory as being very bold and simplified which is what we have in mind for our poster. As seen in the poster for 'Kill Bill' below, he has chosen one colour and made it look bold and eye-catching. Yellow is the colour of Uma Thurman's suit in the film and is a key style trick. Using yellow again for the poster only intensifies it so that audiences are left associating the bold yellow colour with that film in particular. Although, our characters will be dressed in simple black clothing and we won't be choosing black for the poster, I think that the colour choices for the should be bold like those in the Kill Bill poster. Whilst researching other posters for his films, I came across a range of posters which are just as simplified. Although, this is not the first poster for the Reservoir Dogs, this one along with a collection of his other films have been given this similar design. They have used a two toned effect which picks out the outlines and fills in the details with block colour to get a simple image like the one shown above. Again, they have stuck to a very basic and limited colour palette of red, black and white which are contrasting and look very dynamic against each other. I think that a design like this for our poster would work, using just the outlines of Bobbie and Clive's figures in the colour palette we choose. I also think that the font choices used in his posters always look very striking and eye-catching and suit the genre of the films which is important. We will need to take all of these things into account when designing the poster for our film to ensure that the imagery, colour palette and fonts are all well suited to the production.

MAJOR PROJECT: Rescheduling Shoot Dates/Development

Heavy Snow

This week was particularly stressful as we have encountered heavy snowfall on the days leading up to our proposed shoot this weekend. There have been several amber and red warnings across the country about the conditions which have affected many people. This posed a serious problem for our shoot as several of our cast and crew members live several miles away from the location and would need to drive in. As a team we kept an eye on the weather and any changes. As the Producer it was my responsibility to keep everyone informed. I also asked Simon for advice on the matter as I was unsure  of what to do regarding rescheduling.

With more snow scheduled over the shoot dates this weekend, we made the decision as a group to reschedule the shoot. We knew that the health risks of asking the contributors to drive several miles in wintery conditions would have been too great and there was also the risk of being snowed in at the location with such heavy snowfall on Friday. We were due to collect equipment on Thursday, of which I emailed Ferg to let him know our plans to re-shoot and book out equipment at a later date. To ensure that we would have some firm dates, I communicated with our cast and crew members over email this week to arrange a shoot for the 17th/18th and 25th March which is 2 weeks away from now. This seemed to be the best option to fit around everyone's schedule and gave us an extra full day to shoot on the following Sunday, which I think will be beneficial.

Overall, although this week has been very stressful, and the feeling of the unknown was very frustrating, I think we have made the right decision. As the Producer, I didn't want to be responsible for putting any of our contributors in danger or risk them being snowed in at the location and therefore deemed the shoot unsafe. I also think that trying to shoot the exterior scenes in the snow would have been very difficult with regards to continuity as well as health and safety and the added pressure would have shown in the film. Therefore, I think that rescheduling to the new dates I have planned will work in our favour and hopefully be much more of a success!

MAJOR PROJECT: Researching/Sourcing Props

As the Producer, I was in charge of sourcing all of the props required for the shoot and allowing for these in the budget. I began by making a separate column in the budget labelled 'Props' and listing each one with a predicted spend to give me an amount to try and stick to. It was important to keep everything organised in a list so that when it came to filming I could create a check list and ensure I had everything with me for the shoot.

I knew that several of the props I would already have or have access to like a car, some of the documents/posters and the head torches so these would be free. However, the majority of the props needed to be purchased specially for the shoot to ensure that they were suitable for the production and  would serve their purpose in the film. Some more specialist props included the toy laser blasters. We had decided as a group that these needed to be brightly coloured and make some kind of irritating sound to add to comedic effect. The guns needed to look plastic and pretend so that they would be believable as children's toys. To find these I looked online and found the ones shown below on Amazon at a reasonable price, which were exactly what we were looking for. Bobbie and Clive use tights as masks. In the script we wanted the appearance of the characters to look as ridiculous as possible. They also needed to highlight how amateur they are as criminals and act as a hint to Clive's plan. The tights were easy to purchase from Sainsbury's at a reasonable price, which I will measure up and cut holes out of during the shoot days to fit the actors faces. The balaclava for George's cameo was a little more specialist and not something I could easily find on the high street, therefore I also shopped for this on Amazon and purchased the one shown below.

Toy Laser Blaster

Other props included a bag for life which I managed to find from a pound shop. It was important that I didn't just use a supermarket branded one as I felt it best to keep any well known brands and logos out of the film unless absolutely necessary. Most of the cardboard boxes were free, which Ellen managed to collect from her work. However, we ordered a few new ones which will be the ones that are at the top of the piles and in view on camera. After talking to Simon about the set up for the warehouse location, he said the warehouse would need to be full to make it look believable as a store room space. To ensure that the boxes that would be opened looked full, I purchased more than 150 apples to fill the 2 boxes that will be opened on camera. As the Producer, I felt it important that this location would look believable to audiences and lift the production value of the film.

Balaclava

Lastly, we required a framed photo of Bobbie and Clive which would sit on Clive's desk and be seen by Bobbie as she wanders past. We knew that the last time we would see the actors before the shoot date was the rehearsal a few weeks ago. Therefore, we made sure we got a photo of the two of them together, which Josh photoshopped onto a different background. I then purchased an inexpensive, simple black frame and placed the photo in it.

I found the prop buying process quite enjoyable as most of the objects were easy to source and inexpensive, therefore didn't drain the budget too much. I made sure that anything that I ordered online was purchased well in advance to ensure it arrived on time, and tested out any of the props prior to filming to make sure they fit their purpose. Some of the props I couldn't get until we were nearing the shoot days like the sandwiches or the apples as these needed to look and be fresh, not only in appearance but for health and safety reasons also.

MAJOR PROJECT: Test Shoot 2

We decided to undertake a second test shoot day to give us more time at the location with the camera equipment prior to shooting the film. We wanted to be certain of our camera choice and also assess how long the set up would take. For me, I wanted to plan some of the set dressing and prep some of it beforehand so that the process would be simple on the shoot days and wouldn't take up too much time. On the last test shoot we only spent an evening there during the week, which wasn't really enough time to test the equipment thoroughly. It was only enough time for me to take some photos and do a risk assessment for the shoot.

Blacked Out Windows

For this test shoot, we spent all day on Saturday at the location. We had the location to ourselves as it is only a working office during the week which meant that for the time we were there we had control of the space. Not only was it a good opportunity to test out the equipment, but it allowed me to take all of the props and costume items that I had sourced (apart from the apples) and store them in one of the storage cupboards until the shoot days. I thought that this would be useful as it meant I didn't have to worry about them and I will have lots of other bags with me on the day.

Whilst Ellen and Josh set up the equipment, I began to measure up some black card for the windows and labelled all of it so that I knew which bits were for which windows. I used A3 black card, most of which I could leave as it is, however, some of the windows required me to measure and alter the card to fit the dimensions of the the windows. For most of the windows, I was able to blue-tac the card to the inside and pull the blinds down so that you couldn't see it. However, like on the windows shown below, there were no blinds, which meant that I had to stick it to the outside of the windows to give the illusion that it was pitch black outside.

Ellen also brought with her all of the cardboard boxes that she has managed to collect from work, which meant that we could leave those in the storage cupboards also. However, it gave us the opportunity to put them all up in the store room so we could decide on the composition and how we wanted to the boxes to look in the space and on camera. Below is an image of the boxes set up in the space. We will only be filling the top 2 with apples whilst the others will be empty but should give the illusion that they are full. I was happy with the arrangement of the boxes and we took several photos so we could attempt to replicate it on the shoot days.

Boxes in Storeroom

Windows

For some of the shots, Josh and I stood in place where the actors will be standing so that we could assess some of the framing of the shots, as well as how they would look on camera. It was brought to our attention that the Panasonic camera we had chosen didn't give us the desired appearance or depth of field in the shot that we wanted. We want the film to look cinematic and visually pleasing, and the Panasonic just wasn't quite delivering that at this location. Therefore, we decided as a team that we wanted to use a Canon 7D camera instead, as this will give us the image that we want for the film.
Generally, the second test shoot turned out to be a very useful process and highlighted some issues which we have now been able to resolve. Not only was it beneficial to map out some of the shots, but it was useful for me for the schedule, which I can now work out based on how long it took us to set up for each scene.

MAJOR PROJECT: Meeting/Rehearsal with Actors

I arranged for there to be a meeting/rehearsal with the selected cast members which took place yesterday at the studios. Although we had spent some time with each of the cast members during their auditions, we decided as a group that a rehearsal would be beneficial so that we could get to know all of the actors a little more and give them some guidance regarding their characters and the script before the shoot days. It was also a good opportunity for them all to get to know each other a little better and to meet Craig.

Originally, Craig auditioned for the role of Clive, however, we decided that he was better suited to the role of Frank - the security guard. With recent changes to the script which means that Craig's role is much more significant, I think having an opportunity to talk with him regarding his new part was definitely beneficial. 

Rehearsal Schedule

We drew up a brief schedule for the day so we could keep to time and ensure that we didn't leave anything out. I began by talking through their costumes with each of them so I could find out if they had any of the items required already. For Bobbie and Clive, their costumes are relatively simple and require only black, plain costumes. From talking to both Sophie and Nik, I was able to tick off what they already had and asked if they could send photos of the items at a later date to ensure they were what we were looking for. I was also able to talk about the make up design with Sophie, and explained what I had in mind. She felt confident that she would be able to do her make up as it requires something very natural and light. However, I will be supplying powder for all cast members. 

After a brief discussion, we moved onto the rehearsal which began with a script read through before rehearsing more in depth with actions and feedback. Overall, I found the rehearsal to be incredibly helpful and reassuring that the actors knew what we had in mind for the film and from them. It was also really helpful listening to what they thought of the characters and what they thought they could bring to them to make them their own. I noticed that Nik in particular was very interested in the script , and had many ideas himself which we have noted down and will think about before finalising the script.