Unit 22 - Anaesthetic Blog

(New) A young hypnotist's business is commandeered by his aunt. Only for it to be used for much more sinister purposes.

(Old)Tobias Stone – a young hypnotist in training with a bright future and a degrading past. Working under the cruel and persuasive fist of his aunt, Tobias skulks in the shadows of downtown London...watching, and waiting.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anaesthetic/366312096843880 - Anaesthetic Page (Facebook)

29th January

The group has merged together and are content with deciding - and performing - roles.

Jamie - Director + Art Director
Luke -  DoP + Camera Operator + Script Supervisor
Sam - 1st Assistant Director + Sound
Stephen - 2nd Assistant Direcotr + Sound Recordist - Not in the team

Location Manager

The job of the Director will be challenging, but I'd like the first hand experience and find out if I'm any good at it. Plus, the script which has been chosen for film - Anaesthetic - was written by me.

A complication with the script involved the merging of Anaesthetic and Samantha Halliwell's 'A Minor Demon'. We two scripts had a certain theme in common, and we were challenged with attempting to combine the two, in attempt to produce a better piece.

'A Minor Demon' seemed to be focused mainly on plot. It involved a girl who is supposedly having nightmares about a demon who calls itself 'Abraxas'. Abraxas demands that the girl has been lying all of her life. The girl is put through certain tasks, obstacles and phases which seem to resemble a maze. She finally comes across Abraxas again, and with no understanding of her visions and dreams, is forced to repeat her actions again. It is clear that vivid imagination is used in A Minor Demon, and I think that is what would be needed in Anaesthetic, if it were to improve. Although the combination of the two scripts seemed incredibly hard. Changing Anaesthetics storyline to involve a demon would mean a possible different ending, which would turn the script into something completely different. Sam and I agreed that it was for the best that we left the demons out of Anaethetic, although I challenged myself to improve my draft, by attempting to add more imagination

Team member Sam was completely fine with the suggestions made to not merge scripts. In fact, it was a group decision. I would not of went ahead with the process if Sam told me she wanted part of her script to be joint with Anaesthetic, but she insisted that merging the two may make the script too 'over-the-top'.

Although roughly related, there are no major similarities with either of our scripts. The only thing that was of slight relevance, was that both scripts were slightly creepy. In my opinion, I think that joining these scripts would be a waste of time. Both script ideas are bold and major, I think we could both gain inspiration and ideas from each other - which we did - but both I and Sam agreed that keeping the two scripts apart was the best decision.

We have decided to add more detail to Anaesthetic. We are setting the script in the Victorian Era, instantly opening up opportunities for the makeup artists. Although this idea may imply more challenges - such as props and location - we are confident that this will boost our short film in the long run.

Our script still needs a thorough check through with Kelly (Teacher). Although I have sent the third copy to her in hopes that it is good enough. I still may need to change a few minor things, but I am hoping that Kelly will spot the mistakes too.

Although still deciding on the location, we have our eyes on the Preston Park Victorian Village. We have learnt that the area is closed on Mondays, meaning that no tourists will be present. We are currently attempting to contact Preston Park, to see if we could possibly make a recce check next Monday. If not, we can book to go on working days. I am worried that we may not have time for that, although it is the best idea we have. We have made sure we have backup plan. Luke contacted a friend, and they agreed that it is possible to film in a certain area of their home - It is a large, bare room, perfect for our filming. I am hoping to find such a room in Preston Park.

We have been told that clothes and props can be used there too, which would be a great help. I am worried that the outfits may seem to clean and unfitting, so I am keeping an eye on certain outfits for our characters on Ebay. As well as this, I have already bought certain props, such as glass vials, ready for use on set. Sam has contributed by bringing in a large leather suitcase, perfect for filming.

My biggest worry is time. We may not be able to get all necessary items properly, and I fear that if I do not guide or instruct members of my team, we may not reach deadlines.

30th January

We are in the process of rewriting the script. After being told that the script was missing drama we have made a group decision to change the script, so that Miss Stone has more of a purpose when it comes to drugging her clients. It can't just be about the money.

Ideas:

Miss Stone is driven by her desire to 'help' - giving her clients certain types of drugs because she believes that they are in a better state of mind. The drugs help the clients escape 'reality' and delve into a world of bliss. Obviously, Tobias wants a clean reputation when it comes to his hypnotism business, so he is enraged when he finds out what Miss Stone is doing to the clients.

Drama can come from the fact that Tobias knows Miss Stone and her drug scandal is the only reason they are getting much business, he can't complain about the money being rolled in.

Tobias wants to help those in need of his therapy, but as a good, pure character, Tobias knows deep down that Miss Stones methods aren't the way forward.

The team suggested revenge. Miss Stone was previously subdued or drugged by Tobias, and she wants him and everyone else to feel her pain. I believe that this would change the story line completely, and adding more to the already large script. Also, we would not be able to add both ideas, since it would add too much back story, changing the script from a short film to a feature length film.

We have made contact with Preston Park, and will have more information tomorrow. Our plans are going on a recce check on the weekend, and gather info such as costumes, days available, safety issues, transport, and destination.

1st February

I have fully finished the fourth draft of the script. I will be handing it in on Monday to have it checked over. I had to rewrite the full script, yet keep the soul of the story line. I will rewrite the scene breakdown, also.

Sam and I have contributed to the props. Sam has shown me a great leather suitcase which we can use as one of the main props. I can bring a Victorian style pocket watch, as well as a leather bound journal. We are continuing to search for more props, but I am glad that the two most unusual props are out of the way.

Luke has been held up with personal matters, and could not phone Preston Park back in time. I am going to phone up first thing tomorrow, and inquire about their open dates, as well as if they can make any openings for us to film in certain places. If I succeed, I will head down on the same day, and attempt a recce check. I will try involve other members of the group with this, although Luke lives the closest; he is my best option.

So far, I have only just managed to befriend Steven over Facebook. Nothing else has happened.

Both Sam and Luke have offered help towards writing the Script, giving me ideas on the new characters, as well as stress relief.

I am confident that the new script will do well. I am more worried about the location. Mondays are the day Preston Park is closed, so we may be able to enter - with approval of a manager - and film. Will we only be able to visit on Mondays? How will the whole set crew get to Preston Park? Does everyone know where it is? And what if we aren't able to film there? Luke still has a contact who has a large room available, but it isn't as 'Victorian' as we want it to be.

6th February

With the Script fully complete and assessed, we are now focusing on other paperwork. We have made a presentation on different techniques used in certain films and TV shows, and explained how they inspire us, and make us want to experiment with our own techniques. Some character breakdown sheets need to be completed, so that we can send them off to the Drama group for auditions. We are trying to think about all aspects when it comes to our film; Luke is already thinking about the music we are going to be placing into the film. Both Sam and I are working on character breakdown sheets and props. The team is focusing on the presentation we need to give today, and are busy ticking off the items we need for the production file. We are still in Pre-Production.

Steven has not turned up today. The group have not been told why.

Our presentation went well!

8th February

After several attempts to get in contact with the managers of Preston Park, the team decided to take a visit there, for a recce check; Luke and I from the team, and Isobel, the director of another team. Sam implied she wanted to come, but did not turn up. We couldn't make contact with her, as there was no reply from her phone.

We did not find what we were hoping for. The rooms inside the Victorian Village were small; too small for any type of shooting. Some had unwanted items in them, which couldn't be moved. Others just didn't look like what we were hoping for. 

 We were given permission to look around the Chemist Shop. It may be possible to shoot in there, but it would be cramped, and the Actors wouldn't be able to move much. The therapy chair would also have to be converted into a counter. My opinion is that we shouldn't film there. Outside of the shop looks fine, however. We could convert the kitchen scenes to outside scenes; Tobias hangs about outside the therapy to be away from his aunt.

One room seemed fine for filming, but large. A few techniques of the camera and we might be able to make it seem smaller. We'd need props such as boxes and papers, to make the room seem cluttered.

We were told that filming is only available from 9 until 11, which isn't a substantial amount of time. We were also told that the film would not be able to be shown online, or anywhere apart from the college course. We are going to consult Kelly on the matter - she may be able to address the manager of Preston Park and make a better deal.

13th February

Casting is complete. The group has now finished deciding on all characters - even the extras - and now getting onto other things. Our casting is as follows:

• Miss Stone - Madeline Webb Rosa Graham
• Tobias Stone - Jack Harrison
• Crane - Second year Sam Hinchcliffe
• Constance - Helen Wilson
• Lottie - Amber Razak
• Jasper - Dominic Wigglesworth

Casting went well, and I think that the talent chosen will be brilliant for the film. Steven has yet to turn up for many of the casting dates.

We are creating a Facebook page, to advertise our film. We are beginning a small competition between other groups as to who can raise the most followers. Our team has an advantage, since Luke, Sam and myself have plenty of followers on our personal blogs.

21st February

I visited Preston Park on another recce check , and while filling out the recce sheet, I discovered Preston were not allowing the production to use their costumes. We now have to plan around this, meaning that the team are going to visit a large charity shop, known to house Victorian clothing. Any deals we can make with the owners to lower the price would be beneficial to us.

25th February

After casting was complete, it seemed that two excellent actors were dominant in two films. Madeline and Jack. Having both of them as main characters in two films meant that it would be hard to schedule them into days, with problems such as travel. We decided to give Madeline the chance to decide herself on which film she preferred, and she picked Missing in Action, meaning we obtained Rosa as a new Miss Stone. The group was reluctant to give up Madeline, granted. She was an excellent actor and would of suited the role perfectly, both in acting skills and appearance. Although Rosa seems to be a good actor. e are going to work with her on the expressions, and I believe that wont be much of a problem.

We also had a meeting with the makeup crew. They seemed happy with the information we gave them. We discussed together that we were not fully sure on the exact looks of characters, but that they were in the Victorian Era. They have our number as well as the Actors.

4th March

We held our second production team meeting today. We have outlined the major things we will be completing this week:

• Schedules need to be handed out to all production workers
• Costume needs to be sorted, as well as getting a hold of props
• Go over the new email from Preston Park
• Sound effects, and music in general

Since Preston Park re-emailed us, informing that we could use costume, as well as the music room, we are having to reform our scheduling. 

Over the weekend, Luke and I traveled to a large warehouse, in search of costume. The trip was wasted, since all the costume there was too fancy and bright. We do have other ways of obtaining costume, however. Preston has decided to lend us costumes, for the rent price of £5.00. The college also has a large array of costumes we could borrow. And finally if anything is missed out from these, we can buy the missing parts ourselves from places such as Ebay. 

5th March

We received an email from the manager of Preston Park, informing us that we are able to shoot for a full day on a Tuesday. This was more than we expected, since at first we were planning to film 3 hours a day. We now have a full day to get everything ready. We have also been given the next Wednesday, to shoot the outside clips, as long as we don't get in the public's way. Scheduling has been sorted out, and given to the right people.

We are still searching for sound. It is proving itself to be hard, since not much Victorian styled ambient piano music is out there.

9th March

We haven't actually asked Preston Park if we can place props into the room we are going to be using. Nor do we know how we are going to carry a chair into the hall. We haven't found a chair yet, either. Most of the props have been bought, the syringe and chair is still a struggle, although I am confident we can find them in time. Both I and Luke contacted the Acting tutor, Sonya, and are planning to meet her on Monday to look through the costumes and accessories the College has. This will be a good experience, since we can tick off anything we find that suits the characters, meaning less searching at Preston Park.

Since shooting days span for a measly two days, we are planning to produce other short films for the two spare weeks. Although I'm concerned about what we should base the films on. The team hasn't had the time to sit down and think about this in full, what with the stress of the main film, as well as other assignments from other aspects of the course.  We had ideas of giving the lesser characters of Anaesthetic a back-story, but this would mean basing the other films in the Victorian Era, meaning trying to find another place to set the stories, as Preston Park was only able to give us two days of shooting time. I have the idea of switching Anaesthetic into the modern era, and continuing the story with a more gritty style. I haven't had the chance to talk this over with the team, but since time is running out for deciding, I feel like it would be the only option. 

I am bidding on a syringe worth 10 pounds. It's way over the budget, but it was either that or not have one in the film, and I think that if we take things out like that, the film wont have the 'Victorian' or 'Drug Usage' vibe.

One prop I can rely on are books. I have found a stash of them at a car boot sale which are going for 50 pence each. These books are old, and would do great scattered around the workplace. Also, since they're in my possession, I will be able to tear pages out, and use them for the 'present time' scenes, were Tobias' work place is a mess.

11th March

Today our main focus was risks and hazards which could happen on and around the set. We produced a risk assessment which entailed problems such as tripping over wire, and cobbled paths. Since we will be filming in a spacious room with barely any hazards, our risk assessment was small, and easily finished. Our shot lists are almost complete, Luke's contribution has helped a lot; I tasked him with completing all the shots from the alleyway, and his shot types are unique and detailed.

One thing I worry about is the actor from second year, Sam Hinchcliffe. He is one of Sams old acting friends, and she recommended him for the role of Crane. I assumed that Sam informed him on most things, but so far I feel like she hasn't, since she forgets to inform him of meetings. I will have to contact him.

13th March

The crew and cast got together for a small rehearsal today. Their questions were answered and things went well. Sam Hinchcliffe did not turn up, I don't think Sam told him. I would usually tell actors of things, but since Sam knows him outside of college I let her take care of it.

We had a meeting with the makeup crew, and have invited them to the Facebook page. They also showed us their progress on character makeup, and everything seems great. The group page is going well, and our team is currently winning. The group has managed to work together to get most of the paperwork done. 

14th March

Luke and I finished the shot lists, they seem ready for the day. I will be working on the storyboards over the weekend, but they aren't a necessity.

The syringe prop from Ebay will sadly not be arriving on time. We will have to improvise. I had an idea to have Miss Stone hold a shady looking bottle instead, showing an unknown liquid.

All major props have been bought, any that we find that are cheap are being added on as space fillers. Instead of a chair, I had an idea that we could cover a plain chair with an old fashioned blanket, saving us time, space to carry it, and it may look as aesthetically pleasing as the chair. I have spoke to JR (Manager of Preston Park) over the phone, and he has agreed to have a meeting with me tomorrow to discuss any problems we have. Also, he is letting me view Preston's costumes, this will be a great chance to tick things off. Anything they do not have, we can fill it in with costume from the College.

16th March

The meeting went well. JR first let me take a couple more stills of the street and the Music room, and I was able to find some great places to shoot or outdoor scenes.

The costume wardrobe was incredible. Although I wasn't able to take much pictures of the costume, Preston had many shirts, trousers, dresses and suits which suited our film perfectly. I was able to set aside some of them for Tuesday.

My only issue was the Music Room. I presumed the Music Room was the large blue room, which I have previously taken photos of, however JR showed me the room ahead of that, it seemed more grand and even had its own fireplace. Apparently that room is known as the Music Room, and the one I presumed we'd be filming in was the Ball Room. However we may be able to turn this to our advantage, since the room has a large area suitable for our filming. They'll be a couple more issues that show modern technology in our shots, but we'll hopefully be able to crop/cover them up on the day.

All other issues were sorted out. We are able to film from 10 until 4 on Tuesday, and 10 until 3 on Wednesday. The doors of Preston Hall don't open until 10 AM, but we may be able to knock on the doors and tell the staff we're supposed to be there.

The makeup team will be making their own way to Preston Hall, as well as the Acting students. They all have their own transport. The crew will be taking a taxi from the College to the Hall, carrying props and equipment.

Now that the location times have been sorted, I have one less thing to be concerned about.

18th March - First Shooting Day (Internal)

The first shooting day has been completed. Everyone showed up at the right time, and we were able to get set up with props and equipment. We started off with some Actors getting their makeup done, while others were shown the costumes and changing rooms. We were able to get done most of the indoor scenes. However since I was expecting a different room, some of the shots needed to be different. However on the visual side, the Therapy itself seemed amazing. We were able to take a large amount of stills, which are being posted on the page.

We did not follow most of the shot list. Since we were trying to fit in so much in one day, we just wanted to get as much done as possible, and I specified a lot of shots that seemed too time consuming. Although I wanted to do them, and should of spoken up more about wanting them to be done, I simply didn't want to cause too much of a hassle with the actors. I realize now I should of said.


The Actors did brilliantly, they all knew their lines, and portrayed their characters excellently.

The costumes were amazing, and varied. They captured the plot of Anaesthetic very well.

The Makeup Artists pulled off some amazing work. Having seen some of their work beforehand, I was amazed by how great they turned out on the day. They were able to show the characters in their flashbacks, when they seemed alive and well, and also in the present time, when the clients seemed bedraggled.

We encountered a small problem with the sound on the Camera/Boom Mic, it wasn't peaking very high. Thankfully both Kelly and Neil turned up to sort out any issues we had, but the volume was still strangely low.

We sent the secondary talent away at around 4, when some of them needed to be picked up. We began shooting close ups or establishing shots with Rosa and Jack, just in case we needed them. However we were not able to take some of the shots which I specified in the shot list.

JR and the staff seemed happy that we did not cause any fuss. We put the costumes away and handed them the keys. They seemed confident with us.

We were not able to check the edit today, we got back at a late time. We may have to return to Preston Hall another day to capture any shots we are missing. But since JR has bookings in that room almost every day, it will be hard to convince him of us needing it. I will send him stills via email at a time when I can.

 

 

19th March - Second Shooting Day (External)

The second shooting day has been completed. Today went much quicker than yesterday, and we only needed Rosa and Jack as our actors, and only 4 of the makeup crew. Since we did not have the Music Room available, we were relocated to one of the rooms in the Victorian Street. We set up makeup there, and made sure the public could not get in. Our external scenes were taken in the alleyway where not much of the public walk. Setting up the equipment seemed easy, and we did not need as much props as yesterday. We had three scenes to go through, we started with the Flashbacks, just like yesterday, and once all the shot types for that were finished, we sent the actors to the MUA's (Makeup Artists) and had their looks change into present time (Slightly more scruffier). Once again, this did not take much time, since there wasn't as much actors as yesterday.

Everyone seemed more relaxed than yesterday, since we didn't have such a busy schedule. We did not encounter any problems like last time, such as sound, or awkward places to film.

We managed to get all the scenes we wanted to do today. Since it was a less intense day of filming, we were able to focus on all the details.

Once again, we were able to take plenty of stills.

All the cast and crew were happy with everything. Everyone has managed to contribute and pull their own weight. My only worry is the amount of shots taken, and where they were placed. I now know I should of spoken up when deciding shots.

We had the chance of looking through the final footage today. We got back to college and set up the camera, I've downloaded all the footage onto my hard drive, as well as the production stills. It seems like there are a number of small problems with our footage.

One: sound. Just as we said before, the problem with the sound on the first day was known, and we could not fix that since we did not know how. Kelly suggested to use the 'Reset' button. Next time we encounter a problem like that, we will use her advice. At points, Sam wasn't holding the Mic close enough









The Boom Mic got into quite a lot of shots. Luke could not see it in the view finder because of the numbers around the corners.

The lens on the camera was apparently slightly murky, causing a blur in some of the shots, but it's only visible if you focus on it.

We did not follow the shot list. Obviously this was my error since we were on a tight schedule and I just wanted to get the basic shots done. There was a lot of problems with some of the shots I chose beforehand since I was expecting to be filming in a different room. Some of the shots wouldn't of been able to work due to things like exit signs or light switches. I included a lot of shots we only needed a couple of, and I didn't want to seem fussy when I asked the team to do them. Obviously this was stupid and I should of spoke up.

I'm unsure how much experience Sam and Luke already have with these things, but we did gain a lot more from this project. We also got to meet students from other courses, and personally I believe we are the best group for socialization, although this may just be because the other groups have to see them for more days than us.

The crew will have to work on another script to complete soon, since we wont be doing anything for the next two weeks.

Our 50 pound budget was only spend on taxi fare, which added up to around 11 pound.

20th March

We had a chance to fully take a look at the edit today, both crew and tutors. Sam was absent today, and for Luke agreed to help Missing in Action as their runner. All tutors (Ours, drama and makeup) enjoyed looking through the stills from the set. But it's the footage that needed to be good. Neil commented on how our shots are artistic, which is the look I was attempting to go for. Although our Master Shot is slightly in the wrong place. We had a discussion with Neil on set about this, and I'm reminded by Luke that Neil requested that the shot was to be taken in a certain place - a place we did not want it at first. We used the same angle for the Master Shot and Wide Shot at times, which annoyed me while looking back at them, since that was another thing I did not put in the shot list.

I managed to piece together the first scene on Premier Pro, and things seem fine. It doesn't seem amazing, but that's due to my lack of knowledge of editing. Kelly mentioned the clips I chose need to be cut sharper. I'll try do that on Monday.

We'll focus on the music next week. We still need an ambient track, since the second day was outside and we had a lot public running about and getting into the audio, but that should be easy to obtain. We still need to pick out the music to go with the film. Sam chose a couple and linked them to me, but they all seem too dramatic, and she also didn't check if they were available to download for free. If the costs aren't too high, we may be able to take the money out of our 50 pound budget.

I sent JR some stills of the production via email, he replied later asking me if he could post them onto Preston Parks Facebook page, this would be a great way of advertising, and it'd help our Facebook page too. I told him that he could, and that we also made our own Facebook page for our assignment. I also informed him that we may need a pickup day, due to some shots we missed out, and asked if there was any days he had available over the next two weeks. I'm still waiting for his reply.

There was a complication with the photo-shoot, since Neil wanted to do it at college first, but then changed his mind and wanted to go for Preston Hall, and then re-changed his mind and told us to as Preston Hall if we could borrow the outfits we used, take them to the college, and have some photos taken in them. Kelly has told us we wouldn't be able to, since JR doesn't let anyone take the costumes outside the Hall. We're still kind of fuzzy on the photo-shoot issue. We'll talk more about it on Monday, presumably.

My worry is the lack of the Shot List that we followed. It was my job as Director to do this and I didn't. We'll discuss issues like this next week when everyone is in.

Luke will be in tomorrow, even though I specified he had a personal issue and wouldn't be able to attend college on Monday and Tuesday. The issue was resolved.

24th March

Today we are working on all the loose ends in the folder. We'll need to make a Word document on each of our individual job roles, and say how each one works with one another. We also found out that we did not do the Daily worksheet on the shoot days, which entailed things such as how much time each scene took to shoot. Obviously we are not able to complete these since we do not know. This was the Script Supervisor's (Luke) job.

Luke was not in today. The personal issue was not resolved and he had to attend.

We informed Kelly of any issues we had. She is pleased with our progress. She gave us feedback for our group folder. We're missing a few things, but we have been given a brief of what we need, and things seem simple enough.

I'm trying to contact Luke of the information we have been given, but there isn't much response.

Sam gave me a story of what our next script can be about. A lot of it seems plot based, and she has included some things that may not be that easy to do. I will try merge this into a screenplay, as well as adding a couple ideas in of my own.

25th March

Still awaiting a reply from JR. If he does not reply by today I will need to send him another email. We need to know what days are available for shooting in the Music Room, since we have to inform actors, MUA's, and other teams, in case we have a clash in schedule. We also need to know when the photoshoot will be. We cannot decide now since we might pick a day where JR is only available. Neil told us if we do not decide today he will decide for us.

Sam and I have finished our Job Role sheet, which is one less thing we are missing. I still need Luke to completely finish off his Job Role sheet.

I have sent Kelly a couple of our stills, as she would like to use them herself for Facebook groups ect.

I didn't have time to work on the next script yesterday, but I have ideas of how to turn Sam's story into screenplay. I even have personal ideas we could use to make the story itself seem less depressing.

26th March

Set the team things to complete in the folder today. We were going to work on everything we were missing, and then look over the new story idea.

Neil has commanded us not to do the new script. He has told us that we do not have enough time, and that the third week (next week) was only a pickup week. He told us that, since Anaesthetic is not complete, it would be best if we focused on our main film. He seemed confused at the fact we we're thinking of making another film even though it was not our idea to do in the first place.

JR has not contacted me via email. I phoned Preston Hall up and made sure I was put through to JR. He tells me that he did not notice my question for a pickup day, although he appreciated the pictures, and will be using them for Preston Park's website. He told me he had a busy schedule today, but he will make sure to get back to me (either email or phone, I'm not sure which) to decide on the exact date of the pickup. Once this is decided I will inform the crew and cast.

Neil has issues with the group and how we are going about things. He is going to talk to Kelly about the other short film we were going to do. 

Mostly everything that was missing from the folder is done. We could not do much of the Daily Production Report, since it's mostly statistics that we needed to complete on the day.

Luke is finishing off the last of the Job Roles. Sam and I were planning on working on the new script, but we will have to stop that idea since Neil has a problem with it. We probably wont be carrying that out, since it has been left too late.

We still need Music Tracks. We will try find some today and tomorrow. I feel like if we get the music wrong, that would take a big chunk out of the Victorian atmosphere.

27th March

JR made contact with me again. He replied in an Email that it is possible for us to film our pickup day on the Wednesday, next week (2nd April). He implied that 'unless someone books the room' we will be fine to use it. 

I think that if we make sure our shots are precise and accurate, and match the older shots, we should be fine. It'll just be the case of deciding which shots seemed fine, and which ones we will have to shoot again. It's possible to go over our edit on Monday/Tuesday, as well as searching for the music we need. We will also record an atoms-track in the room. 

As long as the Actors remember their actions and try not to break continuity, things should be fine. I assume this will be a hard thing to do.

31st March

Today is a chance to check through the edit. The makeup team have contacted me, and asked about the times for Wednesday.

We are planning on arriving slightly earlier, around 9:45. We will get the Flashback makeup finished first, complete the scenes needed, and move onto the present time scenes. We can make our photo-shoot on the same day, and get those finished while the cast is in the scruffy phase.

Luke and I are going to be looking through the edit and writing down anything we need to redo, and also any new shots.

Sam is preparing a call sheet for Wednesday. We may start a trailer of the film today. A few complications are going with the edit, some clips are not loading, and we have no sound. Luke wanted to add the project to his hard drive and computer, that may of messed with the data slightly while transferring. The transfer did not work.

We are waiting for the edit to load.

The edit had complications, but we are currently sorting it out via contacting a technician. Some clips are complete red-screen, while some are 'pending'. I am currently sorting out the clips folders specifying their scenes.

Sam is busy searching for websites which have the music that we need (Which we can legally download for free).

1st April

Checked over the edit, and everything is working. There is no red screen, nothing is shown as 'pending' and the sound is working on all of them. Obviously, the sound is still dim on some Master Shots, but today we can find out which ones are worse, and which ones to improve on.

Luke is ill today, but has contacted both me and the college beforehand. He also asked if there was anything he could help with from home. He is busy with a couple of papers that the folder would do best to have. He is also working on his own blog.

We are planning for tomorrow. I have placed all our remaining shots into separate scene folders, making it much easier to find them. Tomorrow will be a pickup day to shoot any shots the film would look better having. Our props will be taken by my Dad with his car tomorrow.

2rd April - Pickup Day

The team arrived as planned slightly earlier today, at 9:45. The hall didn't open until 10. We managed to sort the set out to look almost exactly like the first shoot day. We were planning on completing the flashback scenes first.

At 10:30, none of the makeup crew had arrived. We gave them messages, as well as telling Neil. We told the main characters to get their costume ready. Sam Hinchcliffe also did not show up. We phoned Sophie (Leader of the makeup crew) and she told us that some of the girls would not be able to come, although some were arriving. She said that the times got confused, and the ones that were supposed to arrive today were making their way down at around 11.



Also, the staff of Preston Hall told us that we would have to leave the room at 1, meaning that we would not get as much done as we'd previously thought.

Only one makeup girl showed up (Beth). And she amazingly managed to get both Rosa and Jack's makeup + hair done. We were able to finish all the flashback shots we needed, although we weren't able to do the present time (scruffy) scenes since the makeup would of taken too long, and we had around half an hour left.


We managed to get an atmos-track, and close ups of props. We all would of liked to do more, but the makeup team let us down. We do not know why they didn't show up, exactly.

We managed to take photo-shoot pictures of Rosa and Jack, and are happy with the results.

3rd April

We have uploaded all the pickup edits onto our hard drive, and they seem fine. Today is just about finishing off anything we may have missed.

The edits have been placed into their folders, and I have transferred the edit onto Sams hard-drive. I will be meeting up with Luke over the break to do the same.

We have grouped up to do our final meeting, we said that we would look for music + sound effects over the break, and work on making a trailer/teaser for the film. We are also working on a way to expand our films audience, by advertising it on many different forms of media. Sam wants to do Twitter, Luke has chose Tumblr and I will use Instagram.

We will also be planning for the film poster, too.