Practice Filming at Kensington Palace

I went on a media trip to Kingston Palace where we had practice filming. My group was given the theme 'Love' and had to film a montage of shots which related to this. This experience was really enjoyable and I learnt many techniques, including how to use lighting, movement, angles and props effectively. Hopefully, this will, too, enhance my skills that I will need when shooting my horror teaser.

Detailed Filming Plan

Debbie and I met and made a very detailed shot list, noting the actors and locations used for each shot. This helped us plan our filming dates as some actors/locations could only be used depending on the time and date. We also colour coordinated the shots that needed the same actors together which further helped planning.

Filming...

Today, my partner, Debbie, came over to my house to film the shrine, the tap scene and the tools. Having filmed before, we became a lot more aware of our use of technique, including lighting and camera movements.

THE SHRINE
After making the finishing touches, we filmed the shrine from different angles and of different lighting intensities. We, too, practised panning, zooming and tracking.

TOOLS
We collected tools from both our homes to use as the Surgeon's tools. We put them all in a tray and filmed them a few times, each with a different shade of lighting.

TAP
This was the most difficult task. Having reflected from the trouble we had from our last filming experience, we, this time, waited until it was dark enough outside. We also used the artificial lighting, which helped.

Video Response to Paranormal Activity 3

Backstage: The Canal

My role this week

Today, I edited the video that my filming partner, Debbie, and I took of the canal - one of our filming locations. Although we filmed during October half term, it took a while to upload successfully. We also went to see Paranormal Activity 3, not only for fun, but also for inspiration as it was a horror film. Debbie and I also made a video diary in response to the film. The video diary hasn't been edited yet, but will be soon.

We also started filming last week - the tap scene. Of course, there were difficulties owing to the limited space we had and the lighting. Trying to block out the natural light that the camera was picking was the hardest; we tried to do it using umbrellas and coats but it didn't make much of a difference. Instead, we started to create the Surgeon's shrine. We collected magazines and newspapers and started cutting out images and text that we thought related to the idea of perfection and obsession.

We also had a few problems with the actors. Since the actor who was meant to be portraying 'The Surgeon' was away, we were a bit held back with time. However, he's back now and we're almost ready to keep up with our schedule. Also, the main girl who was playing the 'victim' was very busy these few weeks which, again, set us back again. We're not sure whether it's still realistic to use her in our trailer or to try look for someone else. Nevertheless, we still have time as there are many shots that doesn't need both those actors.

Project Plan

Open publication - Free publishing - More plan