Update 30/11

It was snowing a blizzard today...


I had planned to go to Saltburn today with my main character in order to film the scene where she is reflecting on her past experience, which leads into the flashback montage. This meant that I could begin editing this section together.

HOWEVER...

Due to the horrendous weather conditions, I made a sensible decision as director that it was too dangerous to film on the pier in terms of health and safety. Moreover, not much could be seen due to the mist and the snow was blowing directly towards the camera, resulting in less effective shots.


But I was adaptable. Instead, we filmed in my garden where the snow was laying and looked much prettier. There were no dangers like the sea here and we kept warm.

Please find my video diary below...



And here are a few clips from today's filming...



I am actually grateful for the snow today, despite the change of plans with Saltburn, because I have created stunning shots of my main character and managed to show the progression of time even better.

My favourite thing is that the white snow reflects purity, and to go further, so does my main character.

Grain Editing

Grain and noise are often caused by filming in a location with low light. Originally, this clip was just a practise but I watched a tutorial...

explaining how to reduce grain. This worked very well and most importantly, has improved my editing skills in 'After Effects' as well as 'Premiere Pro.'

This is the original video...



As you can see, the grain is unattractive and distracting. This is because I shot in low light and with a camera that did not give the best quality.

And this is the version I edited...




I edited this in Adobe After Effects. I had never used this software therefore my research such as the tutorial video helped me. I used tools such as 'temporal filtering' which when enabled reduced my grain a little. I also used 'noise reduction'. The 'sampling' tool was very useful when reducing my grain because I used this manually and placed sample boxes where my grain was at its worst, allowing it to spot a more accurate pattern of noise.

Whilst sometimes when reducing grain, you can be left with a glowing, unrealistic piece of footage, I ensured that I did not push this up too much, maintaining the same level of detail.



I am pleased with how my skills have improved through this exercise of mine.

Included:

• Edited footage and explanation of techniques used

Montage Editing Practise

I have quite a lot of shots that are to be used in my flashback montage of past experiences therefore I decided to practise editing these. By the time I came to edit the real version, I would know exactly what I wanted.

Please find my practise below...



This is the first time which I have put the potential background from www.bensound.com on top of my shots and they compliment each other nicely, increasing the emotion.

Obviously this was just a practise and I will spend much longer in the final post-production stage. For example, when I have got all of the shots I need for this section, I will be able to swap them around properly so that no locker shots are near each other etc.

I used an 'exponential fade' on the music so that it was not sudden and ruined the emotion; this makes the music fade in. The piece begins with one note and I edited this so that it played exactly when the first shot was introduced.

When I have more shots, I will edit this properly to be used in my final film.

Included:

• Editing practise

Update 29/11

We only had a little time to film today.

We used a wall which I had discovered during my recce as it is bright red. This surrounds my main character, who is wearing grey as her clothes seem to become paler as she falls deeper into her depression.

Please find my video diary below...



And here are some clips I got today...



There is snow forecast for tomorrow so I will decide in the morning if we can still film in Saltburn on the pier safely.

Update 28/11

I only had a short amount of time available today but I wanted to get a specific shot.

This is where my main character is sat on the floor in front of her lockers and lots of people are walking past. This demonstrates that many people ignore bullying, but should act on what they see.

Please find my video diary below...



And these are the shots I got before the post-production stage...



My favourite shot is with Izzy in front of the lockers on the floor and people walking past; not only is it appealing to the eye but it reinforces my message of not ignoring bullying.

This links to my concept research with the short film 'Strain' whereby if a friend had helped, they may have saved the main character's life. This persona grew to regret this, which I am portraying through my own work.

Update 27/11

Finally, I was able to film with both my main character and antagonist.

We only had an hour but we filmed a section used in the flashback montage whereby the bully pushes my protagonist on the stairs.

We also practised some shots of dialogue to learn whether these will work with my product being a silent short film. This was successful.

Please find my video diary below...



And these are some shots I got before any editing...



My favourite is the one with my two characters on the stairs when my protagonist is pushed because I like the high-angle shot.

I also got enough material to create a shot-reverse-shot, emphasising confrontation which will increase the tension.

Again, I got some more solo shots of my main character for the flashback montage in her different costume.

Update 21/11

I did some more filming today.

Again, my antagonist character was not available therefore I focused on my main character, particularly the shots which I will use as cutaways in the flashback montage leading up to the suicide.

Due to it being November, it was raining however only lightly therefore this only added to the sad atmosphere of my piece. The natural light was still excellent.

Please find my video diary below...



And here are some of the shots which I got before the post-production stage...



We only filmed a little today but we got some interesting shots to use as the cutaways when my main character is reflecting on past experiences from the Saltburn pier.

My favourite shot is the first where my protagonist is surrounded by green; this natural beauty juxtaposes with her depression.

These will all suit my emotional background music.

Anti-Bullying Short Film-Concept

'Anti Bullying Short Film'



Included:

• Analysis of example
• How my research will influence me

Finding Actors



Included:

• Actor profiles
• Scheduling

Update 16/11

Today, I started filming my short film.

Only my main character was available therefore I shot some scenes where she is on her own.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative; many of these were outside but it started raining. Consequently, I created shots where the camera was indoors and filming my protagonist through a window, which worked well.

Please find my video diary below...

 

I took at least 10 seconds of each shot, which is more than I need so that I can cut these clips to size, choosing the best part.

Here are some videos which I took today, before editing...



These will be used as cutaways in the flashback scene whereby my protagonist remembers all of her traumatic experiences.

My favourite shot is with the rain through the window as this uses pathetic fallacy to create sadness. The raindrop also mimics a tear.

The background noise in these will be cut out in order to be replaced with my sad background music, which will increase the professionalism.

Music/Sound Research

Included:

• How sound effects my film
• Using captions
• Copyright research
• Royalty-free music website research
• Examples I may use and why

Cinematography Research

Included:

• Camera effects and settings research
• How I will use the effects and settings

Risk Assessment

Included:

• Detailed risk assessment
• Who could be harmed?
• Impact
• Management

Shooting Script

 Included:

• Shot number
• Date
• Time of day
• Ideal weather
• Location
• Character
• Description of what happens
• Cinematography
• Equipment
• Music/sound
• Text
• Costume
• Props
• Duration
• Post-production edit
• Notes
• How I will use the shooting script

Recce-College

Included:

• Recce
• Test shots
• Cinematography planning
• How I could edit shots
• Risk Assessment