Account of shoot day

The day started as we had planned. We had a short meeting with our cast about the exact schedule that we wanted to follow and then proceeded to prepare the set and emptying the containers of anything that we didn't need or want, this took us longer than expected because the containers contained two vehicles which had to be removed before any preparation could begin. We knew where we wanted to start and what our first shots should be and why so we focused mainly on preparing the set so that we could start shoot as soon as possible.

This was the table before any "Drugs" had been placed on it.

We shot behind the studio, there are two big containers there that we used for the drug gang scene.

Our goal was to create a dark and dangerous atmosphere and therefor we chose to shoot in the container. We decided against extra lighting because we were fortunate enough to be shooting on a sunny day which meant that the container was being sufficiently lit by the sunlight so that no extra light had to be added, this was very convenient because it meant we had the perfect amount of light.

This is what the table looked like in the finished product.

We chose to make different shots of the same sequence this was so that we would have a big selection to choose from during the editing process. We felt that medium and close up shots were very helpful when it came to explaining what was happening within the story. However it also became clear during the day that not all of the ideas that we had would work as we had hopped, this didn't surprise us though because we were aware of the fact that not everything was exactly doable but we managed to overcome these minor setbacks. We set up on location rather than in the studio. We felt that making a set in the studio would be too difficult and time consuming, also the containers looked perfect for what we desired: dark, slightly grimy and industrial looking. We want to make it clear to the audience that this was criminal activity. We felt that this would appeal to our target audience as it represents danger and excitement which is typical of action thrillers. 
We used many more wide shots than we initially wanted to. This was because we wanted to fit all the action into one shot as well as fitting the set in the shot. We also used many more close up shots to concentrate on specific action that we felt would add towards the thriller genre. This would make our thriller much more interesting, also making it much easier for the audience to follow. This also came in handy during the editing process. 

We had organised costume and props for each of the characters as well as the set. To create the drug lab we used a bunch of chemistry equipment, we also used guns as well as bullet proof vests for the police officers. The police all had typical dark clothing and some had bring yellow police jackets with police boots, this would make the thriller much more believable, we were trying to make it as similar to a drugs raid as we could. We asked Ted to wear a black shirt to show that he was in power and asked the boys to wear casual dark clothing, nothing too bright. We were inspired by hot fuzz and the bill.

The Bill

Hot Fuzz

Our cast also unexpectedly changed during the course of the day however this didn't cause too much of an inconvenience because we where more satisfied with the end result than we were with the original cast. We used Dave as we originally wanted to but instead of using Ian and Jason we cast James, Phil, Simon and Tom.

Dave

James

Phil

When deciding what sort of lighting we wanted to use we stayed very minimalistic and decided that since it was a sunny day the sunlight that shone into the container would suffice, therefore we choose not to add any extra lights. For sound we used an extra microphone which followed the sound sources in order to ensure that they were properly captured. When filming our shots we would let them run over for roughly 30 seconds to record enough sound that we could make use of when editing. There were specific sounds that we filmed for example the car engine running and driving off. This was because we didn't actually film the car leaving and therefore would have show the drugs gang departing through sound. We also made sure we got the sound of Ted dropping the container and the loud noise that it generated. We felt this would give the audience a shock and would portray Ted's anger, frustration but also his authority to the audience.

During the day we took the filming in turns and when I wasn't filming I focused on continuity, sound and directing. This was very important because it allowed the whole group to improve their skills and have an opportunity at trying everything out as well as give a balanced opinion when it came to deciding what we wanted to shoot and what we didn't want to shoot. Directing was probably my favourite aspect of the whole process because it allowed me to take control of the situation and make sure that we created something that we would all like and be happy with, a product that would satisfy the entire group. 

As a group we worked very well together, we all took our favoured roles and there were no issues between who was doing what. We communicated very well together, if something wasn't working we would discuss how to sort it out and then re-do it as quickly as we could. We worked best together when setting up the mise-en-scene, and we were all very happy about the outcome of it so it paid off. After a few hours of shooting we all sat down and discussed what needed to be done next. We made a shot by shot list and mapped out each location and what would exactly be happening. This made shooting a lot quicker when it came to it as we had an exact idea of what was going to happen. 

Overall I was very satisfied with how the day went and the results that we obtained due to good communication within the group as well as a clear plan that we followed. However there were a few scenes that in hindsight I would have changed the location of but these are just personal preferences and have nothing to do with the turnout of the final product. On a whole I was very impressed with how we filmed our thriller as it definitely exceeded all my expectations. 

Pitching the Final Idea

When we pitched our final idea to Matt we got an overall positive response and only had to make minor changes to the idea after the pitch. We have come to conclusion that filming in the containers outside the TV Studio would be more beneficial to the mood that we are trying to create, previously we where going to use the TV studio to represent a warehouse.

We also where faced with the question of how we were going to show that the Gang and police are at different places that look incredibly similar without it seeming like they are at the same place.
In order to make it seem realistic we decided that the best solution would be to keep everything that has something to do with the gang inside the container and all of the police shots outside, this meant that when the final product was done the audience would automatically assume that the police where standing outside the same container that the gang are in, which is the illusion.

We were originally going to have a freeze frame of Ted with a narration over the top. However, we decided against it because we felt that we should focus on the confrontation between the gang and the police rather than the story of the gang.

Our final change to the thriller was the white van that the gang where originally going to use. We decided that rather than be obviously suspicious we wanted the gang to seem smarter than the police and therefore use a Range Rover.

Changes to Costume and Props

On the day of the shoot we added a few items of clothing to the characters costume.
Instead of an associate there were two gang members wearing casual cloths:
Hoodies and Jeans

 

We also had significantly more police uniform and props than anticipated.

 

We also decided to recreate a drug lab in the container to make the operation seem more realistic and professional. We used various tubes and powders that we acquired from the chemistry lab.

 

 

This is some of the equipment that we used to create a drug lab. We feel that it was very effective and that the use of genuine equipment adds to the believability of the mise en scene.



The Pilot

When we had finally finished with coming up with the idea for our film we decided to look for locations and get a rough idea of what sort of atmosphere we wanted to create. We also experimented with different shots as well as different perspectives that we could tell the story from.

This container would be a great lab for the Gang

One of the many shots that we experimented with.

Whilst looking for locations and shooting the pilot we came two containers which we felt would be perfect for the mise-en-scene that we wanted to create, therefore we decided to use these in our film. This was a lot better than the Film Studio we had originally planed to film in. The containers had a claustrophobic feeling which would have been harder to create in the studio.

We also experimented with various different shots, this was very important for us to understand exactly what sort of atmosphere each shot can create and therefore which ones we wanted to use.

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