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IN YOUR SHADOW PRODUCTION FOLDER
With my major project, I wished to expand the narrative scope of the idea that I first started to explore for my initial project, while also expanding the size of the crew that would work on the film during the production and post-production phases. This would allow me to fully concentrate on developing the narrative potential of the central idea of a photographer who is haunted by grief and desire for his deceased fiancé. In the original treatment that was written for the film, two more scenes continued the story after the Photography Studio scene that were intended to create a sense of confusion that conveyed Matthew’s rapidly deteriorating mental state. These would eventually be dropped as, during the late stages of developing the plot, I discovered that the actor playing Matthew, Adam Stafford-Smith, would only be available for three days. This unfortunate situation has taught me that my creative vision is not always absolute and must sometimes be dictated by the logistical realities of the other people who are involved in its creation. As a result of having to par back the story, the ending feels very abrupt. Several people who have watched the film have mentioned that they feel like the story was just getting started when it suddenly ends. While I agree with this assessment, this is often the nature of short films that tell a story in a limited space of time and I think the narrative still has a logical end point. I’m very happy with the shooting draft of the script and feel that it’s the first that I’ve written where the dialogue flows very smoothly. This was a long process that took six weeks to complete over seven drafts. Ultimately, I think that this was time well spent as the conversations convey the themes of the film in a natural and thought provoking way, while leaving some details, such as the nature of Allison’s death, open to audience interpretation. During pre-production I met with a professional Director of Photography named Camila Carlow at the Watershed in Bristol. I think the fact that I was very unprepared for this meeting contributed to Camila not taking on the role. At the point where I met her, I had no materials that would convey the visual aesthetic of the film beyond a shot list and story boards. I paused for a long time when asked if there were any films I could reference in regards to lighting. This undoubtedly contributed to me not coming across as being very professional or confident. My biggest regret during pre-production is that I didn’t have time to re-take the photo that would feature in the film. I had planned to add a bondage element to the photo that would have suggested Allison’s unlimited boundaries and hinted towards the nature of her death. With more immediate and pressing matters to take care of and an absence of money to pay the actor who portrayed Allison for a half day photo shoot, I had to drop this idea. I think using the original photo in this film contributed in a negative way, as several people, including Camila Carlow, commented that they didn’t think the photo was provocative enough and it that it feels more like it was taken decades ago than in the present era. While I think that what is considered provocative is highly subjective, and the controversy surrounding the photo stems from the timing of its release, the aforementioned bondage element would have added a deeper, more suggestive, layer to the films narrative. A big problem that we encountered during the production phase was recording clean audio. The audio from the first day of shooting, that took place at Centrespace in Bristol, was tainted by a large number of students being in the room directly above where we were filming. As a result, there is a large amount of inconsistent background noise that can be heard behind the dialogue in this scene. Unfortunately, there is not much that could be done about this in post-production, although the sound editor/mixer did a better job than I thought would be possible when applying noise reduction on there was no way of knowing that this would be an issue when I recced the location two weeks before the shooting date. I’m very disappointed with the pace of the photography studio scene as it feels very rushed. The day before shooting this scene, I decided to cut around a page of the script from this scene as I was worried that we would be able to four pages in one day. Doing so negatively affected the build up to Matthew snapping and bearing down on Ella, whose reaction to Matthew appears to be extreme and without any real sense of justification that the slow build created by Matthew making her feel increasingly uncomfortable. This is the first of my projects where I had decided to ask someone else to edit the film. This turned out to be a big mistake as I quickly discovered that the person who I had picked to edit the film would not have much time available to refine the rough cut they had put together. This issue was exasperated by the fact that I wasn’t present while the rough cut was being put together. The takes I had asked them to use had not been included in the rough cut and no explanation was given to me as to why. This led to me loosing faith in the editors ability and finishing the edit myself. In future, I will stick to editing my own projects as I think it is far too an important task to assign to someone else. If I do work with an editor, then I will make sure that I am present for the assembly of the edit so I can communicate directly what I want from it. After editing the film, I then colour corrected the footage with Cinema Grade. This is the third of my films that I have colour corrected and I am now starting to become comfortable and familiar with how to use the scopes and histogram effectively to complete this task. I had originally wanted to colour grade the film with different de-saturated, monochromatic colours for each scene. Having colour balanced the footage, I decided to stick with the white and black colour pallet. I think this is quiet distinctive in and of itself, with the two ends of the colour spectrum being represented equally and feeling oppositional, an approach that feels very appropriate for the narrative of this film. I’m very impressed with the music and sound design for the film and feel that it adds a lot of tension to the imagery of the film. This helps move the narrative forward while evoking a dreamy, otherworldly atmosphere. The film feels very cinematic with the music and dense drones mixed in. My direction to the composer was to make it sound like a horror movie, a horror that is aimed at the male ego. This direction was well interpreted by the composer as a heartbeat rhythm that becomes more erratic at keys points during the dialogue and acts a theme for Matthew. In conclusion, I think I tried to expand too much, too soon with this film, giving up large amounts of responsibility to other members of the crew. This felt very unnatural to me and contributed to the stress of making In Your Shadow more than if I had opted to do the majority of the production tasks myself. For my next film, I would like to strip back the narrative and the crew and continue on from where I left of with the initial project teaser in terms of the length of the film and the size of the crew. Currently, I don’t feel that I have enough experience to work with a crew of the size I did when making In Your Shadow and I don’t yet feel comfortable with giving up such a large amount of creative control. On a more positive note, the production of In Your Shadow afforded me an opportunity to network with other like minded filmmakers who are on a similar level as me in terms of experience and their chosen career path. Although I consider stripping back to a smaller scale a necessary step in my progression as a filmmaker, I’m glad to have made the contacts that I have while making In Your Shadow, especially the two new actors I worked with, Suzanne Kendall and Alice Dillon, both of whom turned in excellent, nuanced performances.
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The following version of the finished film has been mixed in 2.1 ready for the Cineworld public presentation. As such, there are some lines of dialogue during the Photography Studio scene that sound very low in the mix when played through computer speakers. These have been mixed this way so they sound like they are being muttered under the characters breath and will sound louder when played through the speakers at the cinema. As the bass has been mixed to a sub woofer channel, some of the bass frequencies from the music and sound design might also sound weaker when played through computer speakers that only supprt two channels of audio. The film's DoP, Jake Mason, operates the Canon C200 during the Art Gallery scene. Jake hadn't used the C200 before this shoot but has extensive experience with the Canon C100 and found the similarity between the two camcorders design layout and operation to beneficial. For someone of his young age, Jake is an experienced and very focused filmmaker and I found it very easy to work with him and trusted that he had the necessary knowledge and skills to capture the visual aesthetics of the film. Jake operates the track and dolly while I direct Adam Stafford-Smith. As I wanted to capture a very slow, hypnotic movement towards Matthew to convey that he is entranced by the photo he is staring at, I booked the track and dolly specifically for this shot and the following reverse shot on the photo. It would be 16 takes of experimenting with focal depth, different speeds of movement and different ways of moving the tripod on the tracks before the shot was captured to my satisfaction. Part of the reason for capturing so many takes was that the floor at the location was very uneven and we had to pad out underneath the tracks in several places to stop the camera from moving up and down. Come the last take, we found that having the 1st AC slowly move the camera along the tracks while staying in the same stretched leg position to minimise camera jerk and the DoP adjusting the focus provided the correct amount of speed and smoothness. Me on the right, showing Nathaneal Marklew, the 1st AC for the shoot at The Winter Gardens, how to calibrate the Ronin Gimbal for the walk and talk shot in the Office Corridor scene. These types of tracking shots are generally captured with a steady cam that affords very smooth camera movement and is strapped to the operator. In the absence of having access to a steady cam that could be used with the bulky C200 camera, I chose to use the Ronin instead as it provides the high level of mobility needed for this shot while sacrificing a small amount of image stability from the vibrations of the operators footsteps translating to the footage. Choosing a 24mm lens for this shot would help cut down on the amount of camera shake. This proved to be quite taxing for the operators as the Ronin with the C200 attached is very heavy and physically draining to hold at the head height of the actors, especially for a shot that would end up being nearly a minute in length. The other alternative would have been to use a smaller Canon DSLR to capture this shot with a mini gimbal. This would be very hard and time consuming to match the footage from two different models of camera in post, especially as the DSLRs available to us are not capable of shooting in 4K, the resolution the footage from the C200 was captured in. It's for these two reasons that I chose to capture this shot with the Ronin. Sound Mixer Jonita Lushi and Boom Operator Sam Tucker capture audio during the Photography Studio shoot. With the amount of different light sources shining on the studios infinity curve, it was challenging to capture audio with a boom pole without casting visible shadows on the ground. While the shadows were very faded, the pure white nature of the background meant that even the presence of the slightest of shadows stood out heavily. Adam Bastin, 1st AC for the Photography Studio scene, watches as me and Jake discuss the details of a shot. Working with a Director of Photography is a relatively new experience for me as, up until this final year, I have camera operated my own projects. This has equipped me with a basic working knowledge of the technical elements of how to use a camera to capture a striking image and the correct technical terms to use when conveying the visual qualities of the image. This helped a great deal when communicating what I wanted from a specific shot while working with Jake. I've found that having a detailed shot list prepared, complete with storyboards, helps save a lot of time during the organised chaos of production by conveying the basic details of a shots composition in a quick, concise and visual way. This frees up time to discuss the finer details of a shot and fully consider any ideas that the DoP might have to strengthen its composition and the intent behind it before the images eventual capture. The extra time saved can then be spent by me blocking and rehearsing with the actors. View of my position from behind the monitor as the essential production crew prepare for a take during the Photography Studio scene. The monitor was a very useful bit of production kit provided by Farm Studio that allowed me to easily discern the details of the footage being captured and better review the actors performances from a distance without overcrowding them during shots of an uncompromising and intimate nature. For this reason, I found it appropriate to clear the set of all none essential production crew and ask them to gather in the studios green room while we captured these shots. When shooting a sensitive scene such as this that carries a strong sexual undertone, I found it helped Gemma feel more comfortable in her role to be able to spin the monitor around and show her the details of exactly what was in the frame. This meant that we could both come to an agreement about if she could be wearing more clothes for certain shots that were very tight on her face or other details. For these shots, she could take off the high heels that she found to be a painful hindrance at times or wear trousers. Gemma stated before production began that she very much trusted me and my abilities as a filmmaker and I think having these conversations during this production and paying close attention to her needs has helped our professional relationship grow stronger. Me explaining the blocking of the next shot with actors Maria Webb and Adam Stafford-Smith. Taking the time to ensure that the actors are kept in the loop on what the composition of the shots will be and the lenses that are used to capture them builds trust between the Director and the actors. If the actors know how much of them will be in the frame, they can adjust their body language or accentuate facial expressions based on the shot size. Blocking and rehearsing with the actors is a very sensitive process where one heavy handed or overcomplicated direction or performance note can throw an actors performance into disarray. When approaching the actors to discuss the blocking of the scene, I first ask them if they have any questions about the characters they are portraying. This ensures that the process is collaborative and that the actors feel involved and are able to contribute their own ideas of how the characters emotional journey progresses. Me and Jack Bourne, my Co-Writer and Associate Producer, watch intently as a wide shot is filmed. Having another Writer and Producer to work with on this film has been an invaluable experience for me. In the chaos of production where we often had a lot of shots to capture and not enough time to make the day, narrative details can sometimes slip past me. Having Jack present to remind me of certain details that I might have missed when devoting my energy to figuring out one of the many problems that arise with taking words from the page and making them a physical reality made my job as Director seem less overwhelming. When answering an avalanche of questions from the crew, it’s very beneficial to have a producer to bounce ideas around with that can then be implemented to strengthen the film in a variety of logistical and story driven ways. The following call sheets were created by me using Studiobinder and sent out to the cast and crew the day before each shooting date. They list the general details of the scenes that being shot that day, where the shoot will take place, the start and finish time, who the cast and crew are and the nearest hospital and any specialist parking instructions. Call sheets are a document that is created and distributed to all members of the production so everyone has access to the basic details of the production phase and ensure that everyone is on the same page in terms of dates, times and what is expected of them. The template that Studiobinder uses to format the call sheets is very detailed and includes further details, such as the status of the actors during a specific day of the shot. This is indicated by SW (start work) for the actors first day of production, WH (work hold) for the actors second day and WF (work finish) for their final day of production. These terms would only apply to Adam Stafford-Smith, the actor who portrays Matthew, as the other cast members are all day players. This is indicated by SWF (start work finish) that indicates that the cast member is only shooting for one day. I also included a section that listed the details of any props that would be included in the scene, costumes and any specialist instructions to crew members that I felt were important to communicate in advance. This was as much so I could keep track of important details as it was to share them with the rest of the crew. The following two images are sketches that Emma Tynan, the make up artist for the Photography Studio scene, created based on the direction I gave her. I asked Emma to design make up that looked dark and sultry for the fashion shoot that Matthew is involved with. I would choose elements from both designs, such as the eye shadow from the first design and the lipstick from the second for the final make up used in the film. These choices were based on my own image of what I found to be "sexy" and were very much instinctual.
The same make up would be worn by both Ella, the fashion model, and The Shadow when she manifests in the second half of the scene. My intention with this choice was to subtly hint that The Shadow had replaced Ella and The Shadow was mocking Matthew by choosing to appear to him in the same make up and scantily clad clothes as the ill treated fashion model. This creates a visual parallel between Ella and The Shadow that suggests that Matthew's desire for Allison has extended into his work life and is slowly overcoming and destroying him from within. The first photo shown below was taken by Vicky Bussey for my Intial Project film which it also featured in. The photo is a scan of one of the prints created during the shooting of the Darkroom scene. The original plan was for Vicky to scan the original negative of this image, touch it up and refine the monochromatic colour in Photoshop and then professionally print it onto A3 photographic paper. Due to some confusion over the date the photo would be needed for on Vicky's part, I had to touch up the photo myself in Photoshop elements which can be seen in this second image shown below. This involved removing Several blemishes and scratches that had left white marks on the black areas of the images and black marks on the models skin that can be seen in the second image below. I also crushed the black background slightly to make it appear deeper and extended the background so that the photo could be placed in frames of different sizes. My skills with Photoshop are very limited and I wasn't able to correct the colour in the way that I wanted and add fine detail because of the low resolution scan I was working with. In order to properly touch up the photo to a professional standard, I would have to scan the original negative. With very little time, one day exactly, before the image would be needed for the shoot and several, more pressing production details that needed my attention, I had to settle for a lower quality image than I had first wanted to be present in the film. During the pre-production phase of In Your Shadow, I advertised for crew members on Cahootify and would use the website as a platform to keep track of what roles had been filled. I would also communicate with potential crew members through the messaging service Cahootify provides and set up meetings where I could discuss the needs of the project with the applicants in person. My profile on Cahootify has grown substantially over the three years I have studied this course and I have made many contacts with crew members and actors through the site. I plan to use it as a place to present my portfolio, behind the scenes photos, media CV and examples of my script writing skills after leaving the course and developing my own productions beyond university. IN YOUR SHADOW KIT LIST CAMERA 1x Canon C200 Camcorder MAKE SURE BATTERIES ARE CHARGED! 1x Samyang Prime Lens Kit – Canon EF (14mm - 24mm - 35mm - 50mm - 85mm) 1x Track, Dolly & Tripod 1x Manfrotto 546GB Tripod & 504/501 Head 1x Zacuto Shoulder Mount Rig 1x DJI Ronin Gimbal SOUND 1x 600MKE Sennheiser Mic in Rycote Windshield 2x Sennheiser EW100 Radio Mics SPARE BATTERIES NEEDED! 1x H4n: Zoom Field Recorder SPARE BATTERIES NEEDED! 1x SQN-4s Mini Mixer SPARE BATTERIES NEEDED! 1x XLR: 3 Meter Cable 1x XLR: 4 Meter Cable 1x XLR: 5 Meter Cable 1x Rode Boom Pole 1x Sennheiser Hd 215 Closed Back Headphones (CLAY) LIGHTING 1x Dedolight 24V 3 Head Basic Kit 1x LED Camera Light SPARE BATTERIES NEED! 1x 32 Inch 5 in 1 Reflector (CLAY) 1x Reflector MISC 1x Clapper Board and marker pens (CLAY) 2x Gaffer Tape 1x Extension Reel (CLAY) 1x Extension Reel I had initially wanted to use the Sony FS7 Camcorder to shoot the film with as I was very impressed with the image quality and the flexibility that Slog gave me in post when filming the footage for my Intial Project with it. I switched to the Canon C200 as we would be using the Ronin to shoot the corridor walk and talk and the FS7 is too big to fit on the gimbal and balance correctly. The C200 gave an equally impressive image quality and I found pre-production colour correcting in Clog to be as robust as my limited experience colour correcting in Slog. The Zacuto shoulder rig was booked as a precautionary measure in case we had any trouble using the Ronin. This then gave me the idea of using it for certain shots during the Photography Studio scene as I felt the less stable movement the Zacuto would infuse the footage with would give the shots a chaotic, nervous energy that the Ronin, with it’s fluid movement, couldn’t provide. The Sennheiser EW100 Radio Mics were booked specifically for the Office Corridor walk and talk as I felt this shot would be taxing enough to shoot with the Ronin without having to worry about the mic and boom pole drifting into frame as well. The radio mics could be clipped onto the actors clothes When booking XLR leads, I always ensure that I take at least two as I have had trouble with cables failing in the past. Better safe than sorry when it comes to the essential task of recording audio. Having more than one lead would also allow the Boom Operator to extend the boom pole further above the actors when shooting the wide shots during the Photography Studio scene. I’ve had a lot of success with using the Dedolight 24V 3 Head Basic Kit to creative emotive lighting in the past. The built in dimmer switches make them useful in all levels of natural lighting and the adjustable colour temperate means they are adaptable across the spectrum of indoor artificial lighting sources. When combined with two reflectors that can be used to bounce light to or from different sources or diffuse light where needed, they offer an easily portable source of mood creation. IN YOUR SHADOW: CREW LIST PRODUCTION Writer, Producer, Director: Clay Sandford – [email protected] – 07555348738 Associate Producer: Jack Bourne – [email protected] – 07475055922 1st AD: Hannah Andrews – [email protected] – 07480219276 2ND AD (15th): Jenny Francis – [email protected] – 07980409823 Runner (15th): Isobel Rogers – [email protected] – 07776807960 CAMERA DoP: Jake Mason – jake.mason@screenology – 07817519318 1st AC (10th, 11th): Nathanael Marklew – [email protected] – 07794693253 1st AC (15th): Adam Bastin – [email protected] – 07460022226 2nd AC (15th): Sam Tucker – [email protected] – 07854071117 SOUND Sound Recordist: Jonita Lushi – [email protected] – 07954521596 HAIR AND MAKEUP Hair & Make Up Artist (10th, 11th): James Ashley – [email protected] – 07931003566 Hair & Make Up Artist (15th): Emma Tynan – [email protected] – 07798900204 TALENT Mathew Berg: Adam Stafford Smith – [email protected] – 07975999316 The Shadow: Gemma Reynolds – [email protected] – 07811171358 Claudia (Agent): Suzanne Kendall – [email protected] – 07738436068 Marie (Exhibition Goer): Alice Dillon – [email protected] – 07792664317 Ella (Lingerie Model): Maria Webb – [email protected] – 07867947661 POST PRODUCTION Editor: Ria Bale – [email protected] – 07826138323 Sound Design: Jake Gaule – [email protected] – 07704245410 Dubbing Mixer: Dan Gould – [email protected] – 07891096644 Composer: Aaron Kiely – [email protected] – Because the narrative of In Your Shadow carries some feminist, female empowerment undertones, it was very important to me to have a gender balanced crew when considering which people to work with during the production and post-production phases. This would make the sexually charged final moments of the film more comfortable for the two female actors involved, considering the objectifying position I was putting them in with my choices of costume and make up. Gemma Reynolds, the actor who played The Shadow, had conveyed to me before production began that she understood my choice of costume was intended to be a comment on the objectification of the female form and felt that it was entirely appropriate for the statement I wanted to make. She did, however, remark that she would feel more comfortable portraying The Shadow if I had a female Sound Recordist and Director of Photography on board. Gemma’s remark mirrored my own thoughts on the subject as I was already looking for a female DoP to work with. I felt that politically, when taking into consideration that the film is produced, written and directed by a man, it would help strengthen the female empowerment elements of the narrative if I actively seeked female representation behind the camera as well as in front. This would ensure that the films public image would be beyond reproach when disseminating the finished product. I meet in person with two female DoP's during pre-production and conversed with three more via email. One of the two female DoP’s I met with, a third year student studying a Screenology, would initially agree to take on the role then backed out three days before production began, stating that, having re-read the script, shooting my film wouldn’t align with her brand of female empowerment. I found this to be a vague and frustrating reason to leave the project as no further explanation was given to me. While I wasn’t able to find a female DoP in the short space of time I had to fill the role, I did have a female sound recordist on board and out of the twenty one people who worked on the film, ten would be female, striking a solid balance between male and female crew members. |
AuthorMy name is Clay Sandford and I am currently studying an FDA in Film and Media Production at University Centre Weston. I have a keen interest in directing, cinematography and camera operating. ArchivesCategories |