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IN YOUR SHADOW PRODUCTION FOLDER
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This shot schedule is an adaptation of the shot list that I created with Shotlister that has estimated times that will be needed to capture the individual shots that make up a scene. Over my three years of prepping film productions, I have found that I can build a more realistic and efficient schedule if I have a solid idea of how long each individual shot will take to capture. I have also learned to be more feasible when allocating the amount of time that a shot will need to set up and capture multiple takes of. As a general rule, I assign ten to fifteen minutes more than I think is necessary to a single shot to allow for any complications that might arise with the physical reality of the location.
In terms of sequencing, the most significant change between the shot list and the shot schedule can be seen in the sequence of shots starting with 4B and ending with 4E. In the shot list, this sequence is listed in narrative order as portrayed in the script. In the shooting schedule, I chose to sequence the four shots of Matthew back to back as this would save time when setting up the camera as opposed to moving back and forth to reverse set ups to capture individual shots of Matthew and Ella. Shooting out of sequence can often lead to a more efficient way of covering the narrative, although great care must be taken to not shoot so far out of sequence that the cast and crew loose sight of where they are in the context of the narrative. The majority of the rest of the film was shot in narrative order. When on location, I bring several copies of the shot schedule with me, one for myself, one for the DoP and at least two spare copies. The shot schedule replaces the functionality of the shot list as it contains all the aesthetic details of the shots and the storyboards, compiled with the logistical details of the sequence the shots will be captured in and amount of time assigned to an individual shot. A productions schedule is a highly import pre-production document that can make or break the success of a shoot before it has begun through poor management of locations if careful attention is not paid to the required logistical details of time scales and place. Creating a production schedule is usually the responsibility of the 1st Assistant Director, whose job is to plan the logistical side of a production. As I find it to be such a crucial part of pre-production, I prefer to create one myself, rather than leave it in the hands of someone else. This way, I can adjust the details to match the availability of locations and actors as they inevitably change over time. When creating a schedule, I use Studiobinder, an online production management app that integrates the inputted information across several different pre-production documents and formats the details into an industry standard stripboard. Each large horizontal strip represents a scene and includes details taken from the script, such as the cast members that are needed for a given scene and the page count of the scene, as well as the address of the location. Start and wrap times are given for each scene, along with smaller strips that contain production notes.. I’ve found that it is very important to note on the schedule when significant production duties will need to be carried out, such as the preparation of specialist equipment and the application of make up. This ensures that multiple tasks can be carried out by the different production departments at once, saving valuable shooting time. An estimate for how long will be needed to set up and pack down production equipment is given as well as the details of lunch breaks. Planning how the hours of a shoot will be used in advance ensures that time is used efficiently and that the production won’t fall in unorganised chaos, squandering time and valuable resources, especially important given that this is a production with a significant budget. As the production takes place in three different locations, it made the most sense to plan the shoot over three full days, allocated by date based on the availability of the actors and the locations. This would cut down on company moves during production hours that would take time away from capturing the shots needed to tell the story by moving to different locations in a single day. The following are screenshots of the casting calls I posted on Facebook groups Bristol Actors and Actors UK. When writing a casting call, I try to be open, personable and polite, while still maintaining a professional manner. I have had very positive feedback from the actors I have worked with in the past regarding my casting calls. As well as listing the necessary details of the films logline, the roles that are being cast and the dates and locations of the production, I have found that noting the influences on the film helps draw people in and convey my vision for the film in a few simple words by association with already existing works. ADAM STAFFORD-SMITH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cumHCY1y14U https://www.spotlight.com/0215-0169-2489 This film will be the fifth time that I have worked with Adam over the past year, including his portrayal of the same character for the Initial Project. During that time together, we have developed a shorthand in the communication of creative ideas that saves valuable time during the tight scheduling of a short film shoot. Over the time I have spent working with Adam, I have been impressed with his ability to deliver a wide range of emotions through facial emoting and body language in short periods of time. If I’m being honest, my decision to cast him in In Your Shadow is very much based on familiarity and ease of access to his strong set of acting skills. While I would have liked to have extended my search for actors while casting In Your Shadow, time and budget constraints would have made casting a wider net a big gamble in terms of potential quality of performance. COSTUME www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MIVH8HC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I wanted to invoke the style of controversial fashion and portrait photographer Terry Richardson with Mathew’s costume, while also being conscious of colours that would appear dull or very dark under the red lighting. This would mean that I couldn’t have Adam wear Richardson’s trade mark red chequed shirt so I opted for a black and white chequed shirt instead that would ensure that Mathew’s figure stood out amongst the flat, pattern less contours of the environment. By coincidence, Adam happened to be playing the Conductor on a Polar Express themed train journey across Dartmoor throughout December while production took place for In Your Shadow. As part of this role, he was asked to grow a moustache. Although I couldn’t have asked Adam to shave due to the paying role that he was taking time out from to make this film, I was willing to embrace this happy accident. I found the idea of Mathew having a moustache to be almost sleazy and quite mundane, adding to the sense of banality during the procedure of the print being created that is then shattered once The Shadow makes her appearance.
GEMMA REYNOLDS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edq6X9uJAos https://www.spotlight.com/6214-6752-5466 After placing two casting calls on Facebook for the role of The Shadow, as well as a third call on professional casting website Backstage, I had a total of 37 applicants to choose from for the role. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the applicants would be out of my reach as almost all of them would be travelling from Greater London and I would not be able to cover travel expenses as well as a reasonable fee due to the nature of the role for the two days the actor would be needed. I was very surprised when Gemma Reynolds, an actor that I have worked with once before on my second-year film Token, contacted me via a very passionate email that stated her interest in the role. Although I initially believed that the Shadow role needed to be filled by someone with a younger figure, I had been very impressed with Gemma’s ability to inhabit the roles she has taken on in several short films. Gemma has had experience with performing nude in short films before and was very understanding of the need for the objectification of the female body in the context of this script. While I had my doubts that Gemma’s physical appearance would be appropriate for my vision of the character, I was more than confident that she would be able to deliver the scolding intensity that the role required. COSTUME www.prettylittlething.com/black-lace-trim-satin-bodycon-dress.html https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CHYHNRY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The costume for The Shadow will be the same as the costume for Ella, a revealing black lace dress and black high heels. This will convey Matthew’s desire for Allison overpowering him and the objectification of both Ella as a lingerie model and The Shadow in the form of the photo that Matthew exhibits. ALICE DILLON https://www.spotlight.com/0214-9083-4251 Alice was one of several actors who replied to my casting call on Facebook. Having studied acting at the Oxford School of Drama, she recently moved from London to Bristol and was looking for local creative people to make connections with. After viewing the short scene that showcases her talents on her Spotlight page, I decided to ask her to send me an audition tape for the role of Marie. I was very impressed by the layers of emotional depth to Alice’s performance and the strong sense of presence that her performance conveyed. With her short fiery hair and nose ring, Alice very much looks the part of a slightly left of centre art critic. Her large penetrating and expressive eye’s give the impression that nothing would pass before them without being fully contemplated. COSTUME The costume for Alice would ideally be a white suit. This will provide a visual counterpoint to Matthew’s black suit, visually signifying the two character’s as being on opposite sides of the same argument. Marie’s white suit would also make her blend in with the white walls of the gallery, suggesting that she is in her element in this environment, adding rational weight to her counter argument. SUZANNE KENDALL https://cahootify.com/suzanne-kendall https://www.spotlight.com/8735-7866-2362 After not having any luck finding someone over forty to portray Claudia, Matthew’s agent, I decided to spread my net a little further and started messaging actors directly on Cahootify, inviting them to apply for the role. Suzanne replied back very quickly, feeling that she would be a good fit for Matthew’s energetic and stern colleague. The showreel that Suzanne has on her Spotlight and Cahootify pages shows an affinity towards comedy performances. While this is a style that I initially thought would be inappropriate for this role, I soon began to equate the physical energy of Suzanne’s performances with Claudia and thought that it would contrast well with Adam’s downbeat portrayal of Matthew. Claudia is a role that is very vocally driven and the wide range of accents that Suzanne has mastered in her showreel footage made me very confident that she would be able to vocalize the script in an accurate and energetic manner. COSTUME Claudia is a character who gets straight to the point and pulls no punches. This will be reflected in costume by a classic, no nonsense sharp, business suit with a grey shirt that will match the corporate surroundings of her work environment. MATTHEW’S OFFICE THE HIVE https://thehiveweston.org.uk/ When searching for a location that would be suitable to shoot the scene set in Matthew’s office that opens the film’s narrative, my first thought was to rent an office space from The Hive on Beaufighter Road. The Hive is situated a mere ten minute walk away from where I live in Locking Village which would make transporting the equipment needed for the shoot quick and simple. I had previously worked on a film at The Hive with a crew of third year students last summer. Recalling that experience, I remembered that the staff at The Hive had allowed us to shoot in their office space but hadn’t given us permission to shoot in the corridors that connect to the offices. This would be a requirement for this film as the setting of the scene that follows Matthew’s Office is a walk and talk scene in a corridor within the same building. This coupled with the high rental cost of The Hives office spaces per hour and the fact that they appeared to have been build with presentations and group meetings in mind, rather than smaller personal offices, led to me to look elsewhere for a suitable location for Matthew’s Office. The Hive would offer a location that is too big for the scenes narrative purposes and would not be very cost effective to shoot at. WINTER GARDENS After deciding against The Hive as a suitable location, I then started to look into alternatives at the Winter Gardens. After enquiring about possible locations, I was pointed towards James Hazzard, who was more than willing to let us use his office for the day on the date we had scheduled to shoot. James’ office had the appropriate corporate aesthetic, with little in the way of personal touches, and would be the right size for the scenes needs. The location for Matthew’s Office would need to be relevantly small, housing enough reasonable space for one or two workers. Such a size would be especially important as the film’s cinematography will be captured in a 4:3 aspect ratio that adds black bars to the left and right of the footage in post-production, creating a box shaped image with no panoramic room on either side. Keeping the office location looking small within the confines of the aspect ratio would add to a sense of claustrophobia as the various elements of Matthew’s work and artistic life start to crumble around him. The blinds at the back of the office can be easily opened to provide more light if necessary during production. There are a large number of wall plugs in the room that can be used to plug in lights and other production equipment. As James had agreed to let us use the room for the day, the productions data wrangler and editor would be able to use the office to transfer footage and audio to her laptop for editing while the room was not being used as a location. The key members of the production crew that would need to be present while shooting at this location would be able to fit into an office of this size without being overly restricted in movement. An advantage of shooting in a 4:3 aspect ratio is that there is more space to hide crew members within when shooting at a small location. This office is situated in the centre of Weston-Super-Mare, metres away from the main high street and the busy sea front and Grand Pier. This could potentially be an issue when recording sound as the area is highly populated and close to main routes of travel during the day time when we are scheduled to shoot. Aside from issues with recording clean sound, James Hazzard’s office would appear to be the ideal location for the scenes aesthetic and practical needs. It also has the advantage of being feet away from a corridor that would be a suitable location for the walk and talk scene that follows the scene in Matthew’s Office. OFFICE CORRIDOR WINTER GARDENS As I wanted to give a sense of forward momentum as events quickly move beyond Matthew’s control, the conversation between him and Claudia would be a walk and talk scene that takes place in a corridor. The above corridor leads from the ballroom area at the back of the Winter Gardens to the library on the right. There is no Weston College signage to give away in the film where the location is situated. As we will be tracking backwards with Matthew and Claudia as they walk, the downwards slope could present a problem keeping the two characters framed in the centre of the shot. An assistant camera would be needed to guide the camera operator while shooting, to ensure that they don’t walk into anyone while tracking backwards with the Ronin gimbal. Combined with the gloomy lighting, this corridor, with its low ceiling, would give a strong sense of Matthew being enclosed in a tight situation that is rapidly closing in around him in relation to his work and art. ART GALLERY ARNOLFINI www.arnolfini.org.uk/about/venue-hire-bristol/light-studio The first location I enquired about in regards to the Art Gallery that Matthew exhibits his photo at was the Arnolfini in Bristol. The Light Studio has a very modern, all white aesthetic that would align very well the location being written into the script as an Institute of Contemporary Arts gallery. After contacting the admin staff at the Arnolfini with further details about the project and enquiring about using the Light Studio as a location, I was informed that we would be placed into their kindness program. This would allow us to film at the Light Studio free of charge if the project was deemed to align with the Arnolfini’s creative and ethical direction. I was warned that they have a lot of requests to be placed into this program and that it could be several weeks until a decision is made. I would not hear back from the Arnolfini and can only assume that the themes of the film did not align well with the venues codes of practice. After having no luck with the Arnolfini, I then looked into two other gallery spaces in Bristol. THE ISLAND The gallery at The Island has more than enough space to accommodate the crew and equipment that would be needed for the shoot but lacked a great deal in modern design aesthetic. Having recced this location, I found it to be somewhat uninspired and quite run down looking. This look wouldn’t be appropriate for a successful and established photographer such as Matthew to exhibit his photo as written in the script. The skylight that runs the length of the gallery would provide ample light for the production. Only one of the walls along the width of the space leads up to the ceiling. This I felt could be a visual distraction as I intended to see both walls from behind and in front. The wooden flooring looked very worn up close and betrayed the all-white aesthetic that I was looking for in a gallery space. The only entrance to the gallery led to a flight of steps. Carrying the track and dolly, as well as the other camera equipment, up these steps could potentially be dangerous and would take a lot of time and energy. There would be a rental charge attached to usage of The Island of £210 for six hours, a reasonable amount of time to cover a scene that is dialogue heavy and also set up the track and dolly for two shots. Although I had some funds set aside to pay for locations, I would rather not pay this much for a gallery location as I knew that finding a reasonably sized photography studio for an affordable price could be quite challenging. Steps aside, practically The Island would suit the productions purposes well, if it would not be ideal. I decided to hold off on making a decision to shoot there in the hopes that the last location I had access to would be more aesthetically suited to the needs of the story. CENTRESPACE One of my tutors had been in contact with the owner of Centrespace and asked if it would be possible for us to shoot there on the day we had scheduled. I was informed that as long as it was okay with the exhibiting artist, Joe Fairweather Hole, then the owner had no problem with us using Centrespace as a location while an artist was exhibiting. After emailing Joe, I traveled to Centrespace to recce the location and arrange a the details of the shoot him. Centrespace, with its white walls and grey floor had exactly the kind of modern colour pallet and aesthetic that I wanted for the scene, with more space than The Island and plenty of lights in the ceiling that could be used to augment the Dedo lights we would be bringing with us. The gallery is wide enough for Matthew to be stood a considerable distance away from the photo and for the track and dolly to be laid in front of him. There is two wall plugs under each bay so more than enough power outlets to ensure that camera and lights are catered for. Joe kindly agreed to allowing his art work to be in shot so the gallery wouldn’t look to be completely empty aside from the photo. The lines that mark out each hanging bay could be lined up with the actors to create leading lines that signified the two opposing viewpoints taken towards the photo. Centrespace is down a narrow alleyway off a main road so the equipment would have to be carried there from transport. None the less, I’d would be a lot easier to transport the equipment to Centrespace than it would be to lug it up the stairs at The Island. Due to its location down an alleyway, Centrespace is somewhat out of the way but also right in the heart of Bristol, making travelling there with the equipment simple. Best of all, Centrespace would a very cost effective place to shoot for eight hours. Aside from giving Joe £50 towards his costs for renting the gallery space, there were no further charges for using the location. Having found an ideal location for the Art Gallery, I then turned my attention towards finding a photography studio for the final scene. PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LOXTON CAMPUS The first location I looked at for the Photography Studio scene was the studio at Loxton Campus. I found this location to be quite small with a white backdrop that would not be wide or tall enough to capture the wide shots of the actors against that I wanted to utilise in the final scene. There is a lot of Weston College signage in the studio that would have to be removed and the overall décor of light grey and white, is very similar to the locations for the Office and Corridor scenes that are also part of Weston College buildings. I know from filming at Loxton Campus in the past that it can be hard to record clean sound while using studios at the college as none of them are sound proof. I wanted a location with more scale and gravitas for Matthew’s photography shoot. As we had a large crew of fourteen people for this scene, I felt we could hire a professional photography studio with a large infinity curve for the day. FARM STUDIO http://www.farmstudio.co.uk/ Situated on the outskirts of Bristol, several miles away from main roads and motorways, in an area known as Failand, Farm Studio is home to a 1350 square foot video and photography studio that features a 28 by 14 foot infinity curve. Such a large white backdrop would allow us to capture Matthew surrounded by a void of white as his photography shoot finds the roles being reversed on him. The black painted walls that line the studio will provide the perfect visual counter point to the white infinity curve. As Farm Studio is located several miles away from any main roads, motorways and population areas, noise pollution will be relatively low, making recording clean dialogue simple. The shutters next to the entrance to the studio will need to be held down to stop them from rattling if the weather on the scheduled shoot day is windy. With such a large amount of space available, as well as a kitchen and green room, there will be plenty of room to fit the 14 person crew into the studio. The green room can double as a makeshift editing suite and area for costume and make up application. The rental price of the studio includes the use of the lighting rig that will allow us to light the infinity curve and Nick Pitt, the studios owner and experienced photographer, has agreed to stay on site for the day to advise the crew on how to best light the scene. When creating a shot list, I use an app called Shot Lister that saves time formatting spread sheets to the specific needs of a shoot. I also add the story boards, that I generally create after I write the shot list, as a visual reference to the basic details of the shot.
The majority of the shots that make up a film are functional in nature. If a character is conversing with another character, as seen in shot 2B, then the audience needs to see the characters facial expression to convey the emotional subtext of the conversation. Further meaning can be conveyed by the shots composition, in this case an other the shoulder shot that suggests that the two characters are connected by the circumstances they discuss. Shot 3A is an example of purposefully breaking the 180-degree rule. This rule states that in order to maintain the relationship of two characters as looking at each other, an imaginary line should be drawn between them. When placing the camera and shooting one side of a conversation, then moving to a different camera set up to shoot the other side, the camera shouldn’t be moved to the opposite side of the line. Doing so would destroy the audiences spatial awareness of the two characters as looking at each other as they will appear to be standing in the same third of the frame and looking in the same direction. This is known as crossing the line. Crossing the line is often considered a mistake but is a technique that can be carefully utilized to visually suggest that a significant change has taken place during a scene. In the case of shot 3A, the trance that Matthew has been put into by gazing at the photo has been broken by Marie’s approaching footsteps. Crossing the line for the shot where Marie walks up to Matthew punctuates the moment where he is slowly brought back to reality, signifying a significant interruption of his psychological state. This shot being captured from behind the characters gives the frame a sense of something sinister being held back on Matthew’s part as we cannot read the expression on his face. It feels awkward and unwanted, the wide two shot suggesting an emotional distance between Matthew and Marie before they have exchanged any words. As an aside, it also allows the new frame composition to show where the two characters are stood in relation to the photo. Shot 4K is an example of the deliberate application of focus to reinforce a narrative point. As The Shadow slowly sashays towards Matthew, the focus stays on the back of him. This was intended to suggest that The Shadow is a manifestation from the back of Matthew’s psyche. She comes from within his mind, wading through the leaden, unfocused haze of Matthew’s desire towards him. The focus shifts from Matthew to The Shadow once she is stood over him and refers to herself, a manifestation now made an unsettling reality by its own intent and self-awareness. |
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 |