15/3/2012 - Final Evaluation of With Child

This our final evaluation of our With Child production however throughout the video there are a few seconds that show only a black screen with no image. This wasn't intended and was caused by exporting such a large file from Final Cut Pro X to YouTube. The screens are usually only where there would be an image, however nearer the end where we begin to talk about using Microsoft Word as a technology throughout our production whilst working on our magazine review there should be a video of us changing the font and showing the techniques that we used to create our ancillary task. These black screen only occur 2, 3 times throughout the video.

11/10/2011 - Filming

After receiving feedback from our first draft short film we were suggested to perhaps add a dip to black and have the shouts of the offender and the cries of Lily still playing to add emotion.

We carried out this process by sound recording Chris and Charlotte in a quiet empty field. To get in to character, Charlotte and Chris had a fake argument, where Charlotte began punching Chris in the chest; once Chris became slightly angry he got in character and started shouting at Charlotte. The two moved each other round whilst sound recording, pushing and shoving until Charlotte collapsed on Chris crying. After the sound recording, both made up and were smiling after successfully knowing we had completed the filming and production of the short film.

The host file of the mp3 that includes the original audio sound of Chris and Charlotte getting in to character and acting can be found here.

5/10/2011 - Filming

Last month we found ourselves filming the final part to our short film, where Lily Rhode's reveals her pregnancy 2 months after the assault.

Our first shot was to feature Charlotte (playing Lily) coming out of the bathroom and in to the bedroom where she shows her stomach in front of the mirror.

After looking at her new image in the reflection, Lily breaks down. At this point where you can see from the video we were able to make an effective shot from using our planned storyboard. We asked Charlotte to fall to the ground holding a pillow; the camera then zoomed in capturing her body language and facial expression. We found this shot quite interesting as we wanted viewers to see the new image of Lily and her reaction; it wasn't as complicated as the previous shot featuring the assault and we were able to get the filming done quite quickly.

We are currently editing our final draft of the short film which should be uploaded to the blog by the end of the week as we approach the end of our production.

17/6/2011 - Filming

We began filming yesterday afternoon between 3:30 - 5:00. We filmed the 2nd scene of three which involved Lily (the woman being assaulted) coming home, ignoring her fiancé and going up stairs, in to the bathroom and crawling up in the shower after wrecking the room.

Firstly we took a short take of the shower being turned on for later in the scene.

We then began by taking a practise shot of the scene with James (Chris) and Lily (Charlotte) walking in ignoring her fiancé. At first we found this quite difficult because their was limited space for the camera sitting on the tripod. Chris had to walk over it which was seen as a safety hazard. Charlotte couldn't hear Mark (Director) shout action from outside so Luke had to knock on the door.

When it came to the actual shooting with both characters dressed up, everyone had an understanding of what was happening and the scene went very well. We took about 4 shots of film to get it right and by doing this we were able to compare which footage was the best. We feel Chris and Charlotte played their part well and at one point you are able to see the true emotion on James' face. The lighting was difficult to get right in this scene as first it was quite dim and after opening a few door and using artificial light we were able to make it light enough for the camera.

We then filmed Chris running after Charlotte up the stairs, after going through it twice, we were able to get the footage as the camera rotate following the two characters. As the camera came round to the bathroom door where Lily enters, the door is slammed with Chris on the other side. We felt this was effective as it showed the urgency and fear from James.

The next shot was Chris speaking from outside the door, this took a few shots and Chris explored his emotion as he put on a sympathetic voice. He then collapses to the ground as the camera remains in it's place showing Chris has become more vulnerable and worrying for Lily. We then do a separate low angle eye line shot of him running his hands through his hair to show his frustration.

The next part we filmed was in the bathroom and this took a few separate shots to get it right. The lighting was just right as it was dark suggesting the sorrow with a bit of light from the window. Chris suggested that Charlotte began by turning from the window and Mark followed that idea with her throwing toiletries around. We got some old toiletries and removed any thing that could break e.g. glass to make the set safe. This was done well however for the first shooting Charlotte backed in to the camera unaware where it was. After going through what was happening again, Charlotte was able to carry out the scene playing her part fantastically showing anger and frustration.

We allowed Charlotte to take the camera for the next shot of her stepping in the shower so the audience were able to see what she is seeing from her view, giving them a sense of how she is behaving and what she feels. We allowed her to take up this role so we got the right height and movement. The shower scene was difficult because we were only able to do it once otherwise Charlotte would already be soaked and unable to play her part again from the start. We ran the footage for about a minute with Charlotte really exaggerating her role showing signs of her fear as she cries and screams. We directed Charlotte throughout the footage of what to do and we will cut our voices out during editing. We felt Charlotte was the best choice for this part and played it extremely well because she has had experience in plays that are quite Psychological.

We recorded a seperate shot of the shower with the background noise included. We will take the sound from this footage to overaply it with the shower scene. This is to make the shower more clear as it plays with the cresendo of the soundtrack.

We finally filmed the take of James noticing that Lily has arived home in the early hours of the morning and as he gets up he jokes about her appearance.

Overall the filming was very successful and all the actors played their part well. Luke took pictures of the locations and the charaters all dressed up for our poster. He also took pictures of setting up, reading through the script and during action. This will be used to show evidence of our post production. We all enjoyed filming and feel we have got all the footage for the second scene a part from one shot of Lily outside approaching the house. However this can be done at a later date.