Lost clips & finish

Over the course of shooting we used more than one memory card to save the clips. But when they were uploaded into one folder some of the files that had the same name were overwritten, resulting in deleted clips, some of which were actually needed for the story/narrative. Disappointing but no use crying over spilt milk so I've managed to put together an edit without the missing clips. In the future I will remember to save each day of filming into SEPARATE folders.
That said, I've finished the edit but it was taking so long to convert to QuickTime that I had to leave the computer running over the weekend. When I get back on Monday, all I have to do is print off the finished EDL and maybe put the final edit onto disc and everything is finished.

Editing

Started editing today, after reviewing the sound, I realised many of the sound recordings weren't useable because the dialogue was drowned out by interference from the PMD adapter and other sources. As a lower quality backup, we can use the sound from the camera mic itself. I got off to a shaky start as the sequencing on final cut wasn't set properly, so I reset it, and rebuilt the sequence. Now I will spend the rest of the week editing.

Filming - Day 3: Final Day

Today was a huge success. Practically everyone was late for the call time, (including myself) and we didn't start filming until about 11am, instead of the original 9am. Regardless, we started filming and it went very well. Again we made some changes to certain shots and set ups, including some script changes. We finished about an hour after our planned finish time, but as no one had to be anywhere and everyone was quite content with the process, we continued and finished around 5pm. All the data was stored on Jodie's laptop for safe keeping and will be transferred to the iMacs on Monday to begin editing. Everyone was happy to finish, so much so that we decided to have a small house party on the location that night. Everyone did a great job and it was a fantastic night too. I'm sure the outtakes will go down a treat. The photos below are from the final shot that we filmed and is also the final shot in the script. The first photo was the smoke coming from the bed, the second is a cropped version with a colour applied that makes the smoke look like the bed is on fire. A great shot to wrap with.

Filming - Day 2

It can take a while to get into the swing of things. And the 2nd day of filming was a lot more productive than the first. Today we finished the scenes involving Ellie and Miss Smith/Mum. We finished virtually all the kitchen scenes and all the outdoor scenes. Obviously working with people who are non actors is more difficult than with the experienced, and some cast members hadn't so much as read their scripts. But, the right form of communication and certain mnemonic devices helped them learn and sometimes 'read' their lines. As it was a Saturday we decided to start at 11 and we finished at around 4. Due to time constraints, some kitchen scenes were slightly rushed but I'm sure we'll have enough footage to work with. Hopefully Monday will be out last day of filming, and we can get all of the scenes involving Owen and Moosey done, and use a smoke machine for the effects shot at the end, courtesy of Jodie.

Filming - Day 1

We started filming on Friday the 8th of February. Bit of a slow start as we decided to swap the characters' bedrooms and set up lights. We manage to get some scenes with just Owen and Moosey done, and as Jodie wrote the script, I let her change certain details. The last shot of the day that we did was outside using the dolly, as it was starting to rain, but everyone knuckled down at the end and we got it done. I'm not sure of the sound from the boom will be good as there was constant buzzing around the noise and it was constantly running out of batteries.

Casting & Production Schedule

Today, because of time constraints, we have decided to ignore the fact that the 'brothers' are meant to look alike. So I have cast Owen as Damien and Moosey from the first year as Dan. We contemplated changing the mum character to a man, because it's easier to cast but we've managed to get people for both genders just in case. We were all ready to film next week but at the last minute Kiita, who was to play Ellie, dropped out for personal reasons. However, we're on the case and trying to get Chloe from the first years.

Auditions & Props

We had a visit from AS-level drama students the other day, so we were expecting to cast for most of our roles. However, there were only seven of them and only one of them was a boy. We of course need two boys but Holly has sent him an email anyway. Holly also managed to pick up a great box to use as our prop, it's adequately sized, a nice colour and has a good overall look. Now we understand the importance of a budget. Now all that's left is to cast the rest of the roles.