Pre-Production
The Script
Full Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vIiXqAPU3k-EUKXcu9YTCOU-qKqvMwxY41SoJPkxGGI/edit?usp=sharing
The Storyboard
Storyboards are essential in the creation of a short film. They help everyone working on the production of any film visualise what is happening, and the whole environment. It is important for me to remember that they are just a guide, and do not have to be followed exactly.
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The storyboard I am creating for this short will be drawn and written by hand. This is my personal preference as I find it hard to draw on computers. My hand drawing is in no way good, it is pretty bad however I believe I can still achieve the aim of a storyboard with the use of basic stick figures.
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Below you will find my storyboard. It is important to note that I created this storyboard to a very basic extent. The aim was to help guide my vision and for me to clarify what I am doing even more. As no one else will be viewing this, I did this quite rough.
Shooting Script
& Shot List
I created a shooting script and shot list in order to help me visualise the final short. It allows me to have a more structured method of creating the final project when when it comes to the production stage.
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Shooting Script: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TJLMUso3YljDo3wsdT8-Cyb3pI-b7t_7/view?usp=sharing
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Shot List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HvSLEDI9IXS7i9JzWvoUqxmiFwOfPYa9n_kZqeoZ0GM/edit?usp=sharing
Legal and Ethical
This sheets highlights legal and ethical issues I might have and how they are solved or justified. It allows me to understand how everyone might feel about the short film.
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Legal and Ethical Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12LrtPH0rKpN_pwGQ23aRBSvG0nnJJ0CZsEE3kxQgYg8/edit?usp=sharing
Location Recce
The point of doing a location recce is in order to work out the suitability and safety of a location which you are intending to shoot at. It allows the production to be more prepared for shoot day. My script only really comes with one location, therefore you can find my Location Recce below.
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Location Recce: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y7NzKm6M5yDLg9dPX7FPMhl0vgoKNkummCSZsp9hkNc/edit?usp=sharing
Costume Sheet
This sheet aims to provide a brief rundown and explanation of what each character will dress like. This is helpful for me as the cinematographer as I can plan what elements of a costume I might want to capture the most. It also allows the cast to visualise what their costume should look like.
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Costume Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AUMWImPcwjyclwOF14q6XPC1JiKSxoo6QG0YLaKySUc/edit?usp=sharing
Risk Assesment
This sheet highlights any risks at the location of filming. It is essential to be done before the day of the shoot so that sensible precautions can be made to ensure everyones safety.
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qtXHrzLUnbGSkyVbskWe72ddRVXnhFEdafCyPq07udg/edit?usp=sharing
Talent Release
Job Roles
In the production I will be performing several different Job Roles. These Job Roles consist of:
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Director - A film director manages the creative aspects of a production.
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Cinematographer - Responsible for the shots that create the look and feel of the film.
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Producer - Oversees the production of the film. Responsible for schedules etc.
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Editor - Compiles the footage together to make a polished cut.
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For this project, I have made the big decision to carry out all of these Job Roles by myself. This is due to the coronavirus limitations - If I can rely on less people, things are more likely to go ahead safely.
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By doing all of this I am also giving myself a lot of work, this could mean that I will physically find myself getting more tired and overworked. This could have a negative impact on my work if I am not careful.
Production
Below you can see all the raw footage which I shot. I have Shot logged this all at the time of the screenshot.
Post-Production
Raw Footage
Below you can see all the raw footage which I shot. I have Shot logged this all at the time of the screenshot.
Shot Logging
Before I started the edit of my short film, I knew it was very important for me shot log. This is because shot logging is essential for me to recognise what a shot is and the quality of that take/shot. I shot logged by watching the shot, renaming it and entering the details onto a spreadsheet for ease of recognition.
My Edit
My choice of editing software for this project was Adobe Premiere Pro. I outlined my reasoning why on the research page but in short it is because it is an industry grade piece of software that I am very familiar with. The software also happens to have integration with Adobe creative cloud which is very helpful for use of After effects in the project.
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Below you can see some images of my timeline and setup.
In the above image you can see my timeline. A problem that I initially had at the start of the edit was the confusion when I was trying to find a specific clip. This is why, I ended up colour coding. Each scene or section or clip type has its own colour that allows me to seperate each part from another. This was essential to me working on the edit efficiently.
My Edit - Thinking about Walter Murch
One of the most important parts about this edit to me, was integrating Walter Murch's six rules to make the best cut. These rules are reasonably new to me so it was my first chance to use them in action. Emotion being Murch's most important rule was the one I primarily focused on. I thought about the theory of how eyes are one of the strongest elements to tell emotion, and looked out for this whenever I was working in a transition.
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The story rule comes second and this was a new curve to me. I am used to worrying about story as the main objective but with that being emotion in this edit and then story I felt out of my comfort zone. Despite this, I continued to cut around emotion until I had finished that, at this point I analysed the story and found out some cuts I had made due to emotion did not work, such as my original cut between the people in the coffee shop and the protagonist serving the woman. It felt good for the tense emotion but It felt like a strange bump in the story which is not what I wanted, and this change was thanks to Murch.
After Effects - Screen Tracking
It was essential to the story that the order till had some content on it. It was seen in two scenarios (turning on and accepting mobile orders). You can see some of the After effects work below.
Despite having years of use in After Effects, I was not one hundred percent sure how I was going to tackle the screen tracking. In order to do this I had to head over to youtube to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1e4D1rrBAA
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This video gave me all the insight I needed into tracking my already made content for the screens onto the screens and making it blend well and look good.
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For one of the clips, a button on the till is clicked. This meant that I had to do more than just the previous tracking for the screen replacement. In fact, I even had to manually modify some of the keyframes for the screen tracking because when the hand crossed into the tracking section, it caused the trackers to loose sight for a brief second which made the content go a weird shape. Once this issue was fixed, I had to work out how to go about ensuring that the hand displayed on top of the tracked content. Thankfully, I knew how I would go about doing this - with the use of a mask! This can be seen below.
Rough Cut
