Production Diary

Tuesday, 18th of November
So, today I got a chance in lesson to update my script. After improving the script, the class went around and peer reviewed each other's scripts and noted down any additional improvements that needed to be added. This helped quite a bit, because it allowed me to get other people's opinions on my idea and hidden mistakes that I had previously not seen were corrected.

SCRIPT

This was my original script, however I made a few changes when story-boarding to increase the effectiveness of the idea, and to reduce the time needed in order to meet the one minute brief.

Saturday, 22nd of November
Today I decided to edit my storyboards and make them more detailed. I sometimes draw to pass time, so I keep a box of charcoal sticks and an A3 art book. I used the charcoal sticks to enhance the drawings in my storyboards. This allowed me to not only make the image look better, but it also allowed me to show where the shadows would be coming from in the actual frame and generally it just gave a better understanding of my idea and how the finishing product would look.

Sunday, 23rd of November
Today, I took my phone and went over to the location for the film, which is just next door in my sister's house. I looked at my shot list and took photos of the different frames that would be in the film with my iPhone. With these, I could then make accurate storyboards using the photos as a reference. The photo's could also be set along side the storyboards to show how the location actually looks and get a better feeling for the finished product. These photos can be seen below.

Monday, 24th November
I finally managed to finish all of my storyboards. I realised while completing them, that I still have a lot of improving to do, but I believe that they still get my idea across very well and create a visual image, along with the photos above of what the finished film will look like.

Here are my storyboards in chronological order:
(apologies for the bad quality, my home scanner broke)

The house next door was put on the market last year, so all of the photos for each room and the floor plan of the house were on the internet. The house was then taken off the market, but luckily the information was still on the internet, so I decided to take advantage of this and download the floor plan for the house, which I could then use to get a birds-eye view of the film set. This would make it easier for me to visualise the space I had to work with and where the camera could be positioned in each room to get the best out of what I had. Below is an image of the floor plan, which I downloaded.

I then went into Photoshop with this image and used the crop tool, so only the 1st floor was left. I then made the rooms that were going to be unused grey. I also used the blur tool to blur the text and make it clear which rooms were going to be used in the filming, but still give a clear understanding of the entire floor layout. Below, I have pasted the edited image.

Friday, 5th of December
Today, I got all of the necessary equipment out for my filming. Here is the equipment I ordered:

Rotolight

Rotolight case

Bridge camera

I also ordered a tripod, but unfortunately on the day, they were all being used, so I would have to make do with holding the camera and positioning myself in a way that would reduce the camera shake and give a smoother look.

Saturday, 6th of December
So, today I gathered all of the footage for my film. My sister who owns the house which I used for the location was out all day, so me and my brother had the house all to ourselves while we filmed, meaning that there would be no distractions or annoyances...

Here is a little 'behind the scenes' photo I took while shooting:

My brother in a bath full of paint... I mean blood...

Monday, 8th of December
Today, I went into college early to return my equipment. I decided I might as well edit while I'm there too, so I ended up staying in the editing suite from about 8:30AM until 5PM... Throughout the day, I managed to cut all of the clips into the correct places, adjust the sounds for each of the necessary clips and also correct the brightness and colour. However, I didn't realise when filming, that the combined clips lasted approximately 1 and a half minutes, so I knew I would have to crop down the film to a sensible length, which could be entered into the competition.

Wednesday, 10th of December
I managed to complete the edit for the long version of the film. I tightened up the clips and adjusted the audio. I also made a small reference to a director I admire, Chris Nolan.

My video:

Nolan's video:

Here is the extended version of my film, BLOOD RUSH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQCem3jDEZc

Thursday, 11th December
I spent a few hours of the day reducing the clips down and making the video meet the 1 minute mark, as said in the brief. I managed to take out 30 seconds off the original video, while still keeping all of the significant shots in, so that the viewers still understand the full extent of the story.

Here is the final film, enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FtNAk8Dwig

Here are all of the pre-production documents that I needed to complete in order to create the film.

Script Breakdown (cast, crew, equipment)

Key:

GREEN - Props

BLUE - Cast

Equipment Booking Form

Equipment Needed	Project Name	Student Responsible	Staff Responsible	Location	Date Needed	Date Booked Out	Date Returned
Rotolight	Bloodrush	Chris Healey	Clive Davies-Frayne	Edendale, Green Lane, Yarm	6 Dec 2014	5 Dec 2014	8 Dec 2014
Bridge camera	Bloodrush	Chris Healey	Clive Davies-Frayne	Edendale, Green Lane, Yarm	6 Dec 2014	5 Dec 2014	8 Dec 2014
Tripod	Bloodrush	Chris Healey	Clive Davies-Frayne	Edendale, Green Lane, Yarm	6 Dec 2014	5 Dec 2014	8 Dec 2014

RISK ASSESSMENT FORM

BLOOD RUSH

Chris Healey – 07910 654575

Ravensworth, Green Lane

Yarm

Hazard		Present?	Severity	Likelihood	Risk Factor
1	Alcohol/drugs	No	/	/	/
2	Animals/insects	No	/	/	/
3	Audiences	No	/	/	/
4	Camera cable/grip equipment	No	/	/	/
5	Confined spaces	No	/	/	/
6	Derelict buildings/dangerous structures	No	/	/	/
7	Electricity/gas (other than normal supplies)	No	/	/	/
8	Fatigue/long hours	No	/	/	/
9	Fire/flammable materials	No	/	/	/
10	Hazardous substances	Yes	M	VU	Paint could get in the actors eye and potentially blind him.
11	Heat/Cold/extreme weather	No	/	/	/
12	Laser/strobe effects	No	/	/	/
13	Machinery/industrial/ crane/hoist	No	/	/	/
14	Materials - glass, non-fire retardant set materials	No	/	/	/
15	Night operation	No	/	/	/
16	Noise – high sound levels	No	/	/	/
17	Non standard manual handling	Yes	S	P	Expensive camera could be dropped into the water.
18	Public/crowds	No	/	/	/
19	Radiation	No	/	/	/
20	Scaffold/Rostra	No	/	/	/
21	Smoking on set	No	/	/	/
22	Special effects/explosives	No	/	/	/
23	Special needs (elderly, disabled, inexperienced)	No	/	/	/
24	Specialised rescue/first aid	No	/	/	/
25	Stunts, dangerous activities	No	/	/	/
26	Tall scenery/suspended ceilings	No	/	/	/
27	Vehicles/speed	No	/	/	/
28	Water/proximity to water	Yes	M	U	Actor could drown
29	Weapons	Yes	L	VU	Actor could cut himself on scissors prop
30	Working at heights	No	/	/	/
31	Working overseas	No	/	/	/
32	Other risks	No	/	/	/

Budget

Ratecard	cost per day	no. of units	no. of days	running total	notes

Cameras
Bridge Camera	1.2	1	1	1.2
Nexus 5 (borrowed from brother)	0	1	1	0

Sound Kit
Bridge Camera	0	1	1	0	included in camera section
Nexus 5 (borrowed from brother)	0	1	1		included in camera section
				0
Cast				0
Actors	0	1	1	0

Crew
Camera Operator	0	1	1	0
Sound Recordist	0	1	1
Boom Operator	0	1	1	0
				0
Catering				0
cost per person, per day	0	0	1

Post Production (dry hire)	0	0	3	0

Transport	3.5	1	3	10.5

			TOTAL	11.7