Re-Filming

Costumes

Alfred Hitchcock's Bomb Theory!

Sixth Day Filming

Today we planned to film the penultimate scene where all is revealed and James and Josh have a confrontation. This was most important as, similar to Brick, there are many enigma codes throughout, as it is then revealed at the end who did what and why.
I did some filming today as I had only filmed in Mr Pickering's office, and so had a few ideas for artistic shots i.e. an extreme close up (which Emma helped set up) which was slightly off centre. Another was where Josh's shoulder was in focus, and then it blurred through to James' face in focus. This was a very useful camera shot that I felt was extremely effective and drew a lot of attention to James' face as he spoke, giving ownership and importance to the shot and to the words he was saying. To add to this we made it canted by loosening the grip on the camera and having it almost hang off the tripod.
The lighting was very low key and effective when contrasting on the clothes of the characters. Luckily Josh was wearing his grey coat, so the light reflected off the lighter material. The location was very good as Josh's silhouette was extremely effective under the streetlight, leading on from the earlier scene where he steps out and reveals himself to the audience.
The actors were able to say their lines effectively, and concisely, we did muck around a bit, and we must try to focus more when filming. Due to this, the battery ran out, however we were able to film the audio of some other bits to include a sound bridge when Editing at a later date.

Fifth Day Of Filming

6TH MARCH

In terms of filming, we simply had to film a few sections which were to be added in to make continuity a lot more consistent. For example, we filmed a mid to low angle shot of James in the cupboard, as the first time we filmed it, the angle was too extreme and looked too amateur. 

We also had to film the progressional drug deals with James to show his gradual involvement within the gang. This was very integral to the plot as well, which we found very useful to reshoot before Emma had to go to work (as Emma filmed).

As we are coming to the end of the filming, the final major section we have to film is on Friday which is the ultimate death scene between our main character Hawke, and Raymond. We have arranged this via a facebook message to all meet up at 6 at my house and filming will start then, until 8.
The filming has been very effective on this day, we all took part in directing the actors, and Emma/Georgia asked the other group members to check the camera's initial angle and to make sure the shot was correct. I particularly thought that the location (walkway near Tesco) was very useful as it looked rough and abandoned. We did notice the parking sign for the car park beyond was not easily able to avoid in the shot, so we did our best. 

New Film Name Ideas

After discussing the name of the film previously, as we reached the end of our filming process, we decided to revisit this.
I had the idea of 'Siren', determined by Siren's which meets the gang culture, meeting the Neo-Noir genre also with the idea of Greek mythology, and Siren's calling men to their deaths. We also decided that the S sound was very seductive and matched the character of the Femme Fatale precisely.
Georgia (whilst deciding names) mentioned the word Shard implying smashed glass, or jewels etc. Emma then mentioned it could be the name for the smaller company distributing the film "Shard Pictures". The pictures side is typical of any films similar to 'Productions', as well as being relevant to our plot i.e. where the Picture evidence is important to the development of the case.
We also had previously decided on Streetlight productions from my initial poster idea as streetlights and a nighttime setting are a typical convention of the Noir genre, and we decided the transition would be flicked like a failing light.
Emma then noticed that the use of the letter S was consistent within our ideas, which we then linked to the biblical story of Adam and Eve and the story of the serpant and fruit where the characters are tempted by something they can't have. This is present within our film i.e. the character Hawke and Kaine in the gang. We felt that this would similarly give another dimension and analytical prowess to our film.

Left To Film

Final Alley Scene - GROUP + Josh and James - Friday
Cupboard shot of James - Wednesday TBC
Emma getting ready - Thursday (after school)
For Sale - James (After school TBC) - Wednesday TBC
Dex, Kaine, Hawke EMMA BE CHEATING - In Car (Rearview mirror shots, devil on shoulder, two shot focus on characters in turn as they speak, headlights) "Twilight" Lighting thing to link to LA Confidential. - Sunday TBC

Photos - Michael, James????? (Emma do Emma - Thursday)



Raymond Voiceover
Foley Sound - BOOK

Personal Filming

I had the idea of filming the sunrise, as I noticed within the Noir genre, there is a clear divide between the seedy atmosphere of the nighttime, and simultaneously the redeeming daytime. I felt that a simple image of a sun's rays breaking the horizon from the hills where I live would be a magical moment to include within the film and would meet another convention of the Noir genre.
I woke at 5.30 to film the sunrise expected at 6.44. Unfortunately the day was overcast, so I missed the shot, however I ran the idea past the group as to whether we needed some establishing shots. The group were unable to meet and film, so I borrowed Emma's HD Video Camera to film some various shots. These included an artistic shot along the bars of the fence, as well as a stationary shot of an old barn amidst a frosty field. This could be incorporated before the scouthut scenes where the gang are introduced, as a shot of a scout hut may not be ideal as it doesn't hold any original connotations and conventions of the Noir genre, therefore I feel that this shot of the old barn would be more suited as it creates a more seedy isolated atmosphere, creating a foreboding around the gang and leading the audience to believe that they aren't to be trusted.
Another shot I managed to shoot was of a car driving down a road from round a corner. You can hear the engine and the cars lights curve into view which is another classic convention of Noir which hopefully when I show my group, they will want to incorporate.