Editing process

I completed the first draft for my short film today. Although there are numerous improvements required and some footage that needs to be re-filmed, I am mostly happy with the way it is looking and the overall narrative it follows.
   One of the main problems with the footage is that the blood is not noticable enough in a couple of the shots. Although I have added an effect to make it stand out more, there is no continuity between three shots, and it is likely this footage will have to be filmed again. Colour is a problem affecting a number of other shots also, with the contrast being noticably different between some. This is a problem that can be resolved during the editing process.
   There is a slight continuity error between two consecutive scenes where the camera has been moved between recording. I have tried to solve this by cropping the shot to create a more specific focus, and zooming in to hide the error - though I feel it still stands out as an error.
   I was worried before starting the editing process that I would have too little footage to use as flashback scenes. I have managed to incorporate three seperate shots into my first draft that I feel looked natural and most appropriate. If I end up filming again, I may try to film some more shots that I could use, as I may need to extend the overall running time of the finished film.
   I have added some music over the whole of the footage which I feel fits the atmosphere I want to convey. I may revise this at a later time if I can find any that will be more appropriate to specific scenes e.g. the flashbacks likely require a more 'romantic' style of music. I may need to record some additional sound, specifically voices, that can be dubbed over some of the scenes featuring dialogue. The reason for this is that I am not sure how clear some of the voices are, and I don't want the audience to miss out on any audio.

Revised plot discourse

Original plot discourse post - http://oliviashearinga2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/plot-discourse.html

This is a revised plot discourse after filming my footage.

Shot 2 (without the zoom) is now the opening shot. The reason for this change is that I couldn't get the camera to focus on the subject of my original first shot and the zoom wasn't smooth enough.

Shot 3 has now been cut due to it not being relevant. This shot will now be replaced by a shot of the girl's hands (originally shot 11), followed by a fade to black.

Shots 5-8 need to be revised. I wasn't able to film the specific shots I originally wanted, however I did film some footage which could be used in place of the original shots. If the footage is appropriate, it will still be in sepia.

Shot 9 has been cut. Instead I will go straight to shot 10. I may use the shot of the girl's hands again if I feel it is necessary.

Shot 14 has been adapted slightly. The dialogue remains the same however the extreme close up has now been changed to a mid-shot showing the whole of the girl's face instead of focusing on one aspect. This was due to reasons similar to that behind the changing of shot 2.

Shot 15 has been cut.

Shot 17 has been changed slightly. Originally there was going to be muffled dialogue, however due to my changed narrative I will now have the following (characters unseen):

SUSIE - "Mum I'm hungry!"

MUM - "Susie I've only just got in from work alright! Just give me a minute."

SUSIE - "But I'm hungry now!"

MUM - screaming

Shots 18 and 19 have been cut. Instead I will use footage that was improvised on the day. This will include 'Susie' picking up the camera and filming her surroundings and showing the bodies of 'Mark' and her Mum.

Upon reflection, I may intercept the credits throughout this shot. This will ultimately depend on overall timing and the length of the footage.

I am thinking of having some music feature at various points in my film as the majority of it is without dialogue or specific background noise. I plan to ultimately make this decision when I have revised my footage and decided on the atmosphere I want to convey throughout my film as I feel this may have changed quite drastically after the filming of my footage.

Filming - 2/11/12

This post is a report of the filming process for my short film.
I was able to find a suitable location for the interior shots. One problem however was finding an equally appropriate outside setting. Due to the weather, we were unable to film in the latter location so now my film takes place inside throughout.
As mentioned in the post talking about my revised idea, my actors weren't comfortable doing the 'in love' scenes. I managed to collect some natural looking footage (which was my original intention), though whether this footage will be usable in my film remains to be seen.
Overall, the filming went pretty successfully. I followed the majority of my original plot discourse, however we were presented with some practical issues with regards to props and costume which meant I had to film new footage that was not in my original idea. One such problem was finding something which could pass for realistic looking blood. We used strawberry sauce, though this may not be noticable on screen and could leave the audience confused. The ending of my film has now changed completely. My film will now end with 'Susie' picking up the camera and filming herself surveying what she has done. The idea of the actors filming the footage appealed to me before as I wanted to retain as natural a sense as possible within my film.

I plan to review the footage I collected and determine what I plan to use. If my new idea doesn't work out, I will film the footage again and try to work around the problems we were presented with during the original filming.

Revised narrative and plot

Whilst filming, I decided to change the narrative of my short film deciding to add a much more typically scary and supernatural element.
I have decided to cut the scenes with my two characters together as the chosen location turned out not to be suitable, and my actors didn't feel comfortable playing out the scenes. I also decided these scenes would not make sense within my revised narrative.
The ending of my film has also changed quite dramatically. I have now decided to make the character of Susie a vampire to add a much more supernatural element to my film and to give the narrative a clearer conclusion. By tapping into the current trend of vampire films, I will widen my potential audience and give me a greater chance of showcasing my film in a larger cinema.