Shooting 6: The Beach

Our final shoot captures the climax of the trailer (the beach battle) and some beginning parts of Michael and Eve talking about the newly discovered threat. We also gained poster pictures and extra shots. 

Due to the fact we hadn't filmed with the two group of cast in a few months, it was easier to organise shooting because people felt more available to help again. However, Kieran couldn't make it, so we asked someone else (Greenen) to fill in for him which was okay considering her wasn't a main character anyway. We met up at around 10am at Middlesbrough train station to get to Saltburn, our chosen location. On the day, Iain's camera wasn't charged so we brought mine instead.

When we arrived, we were waiting for two other people who decided to come by car, so in the mean time I went on the beach and got a potential establishing shot and some extras of Dan climbing the hills. When most people arrived, I had an idea. This meant four of us climbing to the top of the hills (which I realised was dangerous due to how steep and wet it was) and when we reached the top, we stood back, listened out for 'action' and then we slowly approach the edge of the cliff. This appeared dramatic and helped symbolise the antagonistic groups power due to the extreme low angle. The silhouette captured dark figures which seemed to give off an unpleasant and unfriendly effect, as if we were unidentifiable. 

After that we got on with the main focus, this was crucial because Dan had to leave early and we felt his presence was important in the battle. We set up close to the sea, on a more dry patch of sand, quite far down the beach so that there were less people interrupting shots (for obvious plot reasons). I had to start directing people in this scene because everyone had to be ready and paying attention, rather than just one or two cast, it was all of us. In thought of that we ensured Fiona (the killed off cast) came to help film this scene as no one else could. we made sure she framed us well (leaving no space behind us as the two group faced off) while she help compose people to fit in the frame in sight. We had a few practice runs for this because it was full contact improvisation of fighting (something that requires preparation) we wanted it to appear at least slightly realistic. We charged at each other and pretended to fight (knowing we would cut the details of the collision in editing). After shooting this, I thought it would be much better to also capture focused areas of the battle to convey realism in the fight. Since we paired people up, it was quite simple, we asked them to practice a fight struggle (e.g. Dan vs. Sam, Lizzie vs. Clare, Hannah vs. Greenen, and of course me vs. Iain for the climax). One by one we went around filming each struggle and it all went well for improvisation, but Sam and Dan had practiced before because they were excited for this scene. We got creative for their fight but using the beach rocks as weapons (inspired by  LOTF). I thought everyone acted well, especially Selene attacking Eve (I had to choreograph Selenes attack) I just had this vision in my mind of Selene pulling Eves's hair back and whispering in her ear 'Watch them die!' to show her sadistic nature- we felt it was very effective. Then came mine and Iain's part which Lizzie filmed. I planned that it should be like a pound to the ground as a good move to end on, so I wanted it to looked extra dramatic and real. Our first attempt was off, but on the second I lifted my body into the air as Iain pushed down which actually winded me! So we got the real effect and Lizzie was definitely shocked/impressed judging by her reaction. most shots were framed so that passing people weren't in them, that was the only problem that we overcame.

The main scene was complete, we took the opportunity to get pictures of everyone while they were here for the character posters before moving on, as this was a good and important location we thought it might be worth a try (as planned). 

While still on the beach, we stuck to the storyboard to gather the shots of Michael and Eve walking on the beach with Alfie tagging behind. This was quick and easy because we didn't need to go through lines, it was just serious, thoughtful looking, walking... So we weren't wearing the same clothes as shown in the battle, we changed jackets. However, this was almost a problem due to people in the background. And we couldn't stick to our visual plans (having the industry behind us, as it was way too far behind us to be visible. 

It was time for lunch because everyone was very hungry and thirsty, so we set off for a traditional fish and chips (not McDonald's surprisingly). To be even more teen movie-ish, we located ourselves under the pier away in a row, and it was freezing.

We made our way to the pier next to shoot the art between Michael and Even again. We knew this was towards the beginning of the plot so we wanted to communicate that we knew about the new threat, so my line was 'Haden's looking for us'. We composed ourselves against the rails and looked out to see, then we'd look at each other and I'd say my line and Eve would reply 'I know'. Unfortunately, the wind and waves were too loud to hear us, and it couldn't stop this so we said that will have to do, and we'd sort it out in editing. 

Lizze was keen to shoot the betrayal scene next, despite planning to film this at the graveyard near Lizzie's, she wanted to shoot it under the pier because it appeared rather shady to reflect the bad group. We then gained some more planned posters pictures and set off for home since we gathered all we could.

On the train home, I took the opportunity to get the camera back out and capture shots of the industry because they were in clear sight. I thought combined with the trains movement, it added more energy to the shots- and I got a good few for us to choose from. Here's a video clip showing some shots from the day:

What I liked most about the day was the weather as it was very cloudy, windy and wavy (it also rained at one point during the the fight scene) it gave the shots more connotations of  wild emotions that reflected the battle scene, and sad emotions for the scenes between Lizzie and I. Overall, I was pleased with our final shoot since it was well organised, everyone worked well and cooperated, giving it their best. And I feel I gained a lot of directing experience and skills, while seizing all opportunities to capture valuable film.

Here is a gallery of photographs from the day: 

Shooting 5: My House

We hadn't filmed in over a month due to other work and unavailability, so we started again in January, ready to begin editing the trailer. We wanted shots of Michael and Even getting food supplies from other houses, so we used my house to communicate this, as we couldn't use Lizzie's house again (obvious reasons). We walked to mine after college. 

We located ourselves in the kitchen and followed the storyboard at first. We first got the tin shot of Michael, during which we experimented with the lighting (decided on lower key) and also added dialogue from Eve 'Michael we've gotta go!' as this corresponded with the urgent pace in acting. The quick pace helped take away from the somewhat boring concept of gather food supplies by making it intense and desperate. We thought it was good to have my name in the dialogue to help the audience identify me as a main character, however, I feel Micheal hasn't said much.

We tried to get an indoor cupboard shot (camera in cupboard) as Eve opened it to grab food, she would also grab the camera. But after so many attempts, we were beginning to think it was more conventional of a scene rather than a trailer because it was abstract. After this we also tried other angles that captured us both run into the kitchen, this was good, and we moved onto the improvised shots. I thought of the stair run weeks before the shoot, and Iain brought it up too, so we were beginning to think alike. It consisted of Me and Lizzie running down he stairs urgently. We tried this from both extremely low angles, and high angles for a range to choose from in post-production. 

As part of the introduction of the trailer, we needed a shot of a clock. We did get one at Lizzie's but we thought it looked too grande, and we needed a generic alarm clock that our demographic would recognise, so we used my alarm clock. We changed the time so it was 10pm, to suggest that '12 hours from now' the event would occur in school hours- 10am. We used an extreme close up, as planned to emphasise the importance of time. Low key lighting was generally used throughout this shoot because my house is always dark (shots looked better too), and it helped portray time in a dark, isolated way that made me think of Halloween 4, the scene when it's raining at night and Michael Myers returns to see the little girl... so I think time appeared scary and to foreshadow that something bad is due to come.

We then explored the house for any more improvised shot. I liked have the lights off as if the power had gone, it helped reflect the lifeless, end of the world idea, since no adults were about to maintain stable and normal life. I had an idea that showed me cautiously peeping through the window blinds, as it would intrigue the viewer. We all liked this shot. As we're about to wrap up, Lizzie was really into her role and I asked, if this actually happened, what would you do? Lizzie would be very emotional and so she tried to act upset (although it was good, it wasn't what we wanted to show in the trailer) Here are some clips from the shoot:

This was a good little shoot with little problems and creative thinking. We wrapped up and I made tea.