Film shoot 2 : how did it go?

In my second film shoot I filmed The shots to create a jump in the Anderson shelter. I shot some POV shots to look like the character is walking into the room, then standing in the room. The character then see's the note on the far wall, and suddenly turn arounds to see Sledner (when shots are edited together). I then filmed a few panning shots to make it look like the character is turning around, and then a few close up of slender.

What went well

- Costume - the costume that Nick Wilson (playing Slender) wore was exactly the same as in the previous shots of him from film shoot 1 - this is beneficial as it will show continuity and seem more realistic. I also managed to paint the face paint on him the same as before, and used a picture taken from film shoot 1 to do this. This also helps continuity. 
- Filming equipment - I used a large adjustable tripod to film the shots. This was very useful as I was able to adjust the height at which I filmed, and to what angle I needed the shots. For example, I filmed some lower angle shots of Slender and some wide angle shots of the Anderson Shelter. This has led to more professional looking and stable shots, and also meant that I was able to hold the torch for lighting whilst filming.

- Lighting - Like in film shoot 1, I used torches for lighting to give the effect that the character is exploring the place them self  I used 3 torches and when I was not filming shots of Sledner, Nick helped me hold the torches to give the effect that the person in the room is looking all around and is scared (by unstable/shakey lighting).

- Quality of the shots - Because the lighting was good, the quality of the shots looks much better than in film shoot 1, and this makes the shots look more professional and visually appealing. It also means that when it comes to editing, these shots will be easier to edit if they are clearer. 

What didn't go so well

Because I filmed these shots in the afternoon and didn't realise how long it would take to set up everything, it became too dark outside to shoot the shots of the Anderson Shelter exterior and the shots of walking down into the shelter. This shouldn't be a problem though as Mr Taylor said that I can film these shots whenever I need to, and I will not require any actors when I do so. 

Diary update: week 17

Over the past few weeks I have been working on my film plans and filming. Over the Christmas holidays I made alot of progress, and am currently now finding a programme suitable to edit on. I now will crack on and finish my filming, and will post my posts from the past few weeks shortly.
I currently am still not on track with my timeline, however I think that timetabling 5 weeks to do the ancillary tasks is a little too much, therefore giving me more time.

Film shoot 1 : how did it go?

In film shoot 1 I filmed the shots of Slender in the abandoned room. I gathered the shots that when edited, it will look as though he is getting closer to the camera every time the character who's POV it is, takes their eyes off Slender.

I used Nick Wilson to play Slender, and I have taken some pictures of his costume.

To create the look of Slender (loosely based around  the 'Slender Man' myth where he has a white face and no facial features) I used white and black face paints. I used white to look similar to Slender Man (from the myth) and I also used black. I chose to use black around the eyes so that it created strong contrasts and looked more sinister and un-human. I painted Nick's eyelids and when I was filming I asked him to close his eyes, so it looked like the whole area around his eyes (and his eyes) was black. I think this worked well as the lighting for the filming was just a torch, so there were strong contrasts with the face paint :)


Nick's costume was a black suit and a white shirt, the same as Slender in the myth. Here is a picture of Nick before I started filming. Some of the face paint had rubbed off on his eye lids, but when I took the face paint with me to the filming location so I could paint more on as and when I needed to. 








The filming went well, and I managed to shoot around 15 shots (I will only use 3 or 4 in my trailer). My idea of using more than one torch worked well because using one torch wouldn't have lit up the room otherwise. The tripod was also useful as I was able to move the torches around, which gave the effect that character who's POV it is was scared and shaking.

However, just as I was filming a few shots for the jump at the end where Slender jumps infront of the camera, my phone battery (which I used for filming on) ran out. I therefore wasn't able to shoot a perfect shot for the jump at the end. This shouldn't be a problem though as I will be doing more filming at the same location soon, and my Slender character will also be in those shots, so I can re-film the jump shots on the same day.