Tuesday, 1 March 2011

Film Blog 15 - One week to go!

This week are working on the final preparations for our shoot starting this Thursday. I have been working on risk assessments, creating documents which give clear details of the possible hazards on set and what we as a production team will do to avoid them. I have appointment myself as Health & Safety representative, and on each day of filming I will brief the cast and crew on the possible hazards and what must be done to avoid them.
Ed has done a great job of creating the shooting schedule. It gives exact details on time, place, who will be needed and what sort of costume the cast will need to bring with them to set. I found this document really useful, not only because it makes things clear and gives us a time frame in which we must complete shooting the scenes, but also because it makes things very clear to the actors about exactly when and where they will be needed. I sent the shooting script to the cast, with a brief message reminding them of a few other details. I think having this shooting schedule will help them see exactly what will be happening and hopefully should stop any actors turning up at the wrong time, place, or in the wrong costume. I added to the schedule all mobile numbers and emails of cast and crew, so this document will also work as a contact sheet in case we need to get hold on anyone on the day and I am unable to access their contact details from my mobile phone.
Ed has also been working on the shooting script, including details of shot type, shot length, etc. When he has completed this, Ed will send it to David who will create the story board.
Harry has been finalising the locations and getting permission. He has contacted the film office and is waiting for their reply, giving us permission to film on a street in Oldfield park. We will also be filming in two different houses, which Harry has also located, and he will be chasing up the permission from the landlords today.
Dan has completed the third and final draft of the script. I’m really happy with this, and think Dan has done well to incorporate all the ideas and changes we discussed in previous meetings. Although the plot line is very similar to the original script, we have swapped the genders of the main cast and added in a few small scenes and characters. I think we have taken on quite a light hearted and fun approach to the script; one that reflects us as a group.
I have been contacting people to be extras in the house party scene and so far we have a handful of extras. The house we will be shooting in isn’t too big, so hopefully it will look quite full! Ed, Dan, David and Harry have also spoken to their housemates to see if they will participate in the house party scene.
Earlier on in the production progress, I compiled a list of characters, locations and props. This week I have been getting the props together. We don’t need too many; a mirror (which Ed will be supplying), fridge magnets (which I’ve bought), lipstick (which I’ll bring to set), and empty bottles/cans (which everyone will try to bring a few of to set). I also plan to bring make up remover wipes to set, as there is a scene where the main character will be applying lipstick. Ed questioned how easy it would be to remove and reapply the lipstick several times, as we will need to do in order to get several shots. To overcome this I will bring make up remover wipes so that the lipstick can be removed quickly and easily between takes.
Each of us will also put £4 each towards the cost of food and drink, which I will be getting for us the day before the shoot. This way the cast and crew will be hydrated, fed and hopefully have a more enjoyable time on set!
I have just had a call from an actor one of the minor characters telling me he is apparently now unavailable for the shoot. I’ve spoken to Ed and seeing as the character only has two brief lines, Ed will take on the character.
I feel quite confident about the production and am really looking forward to getting on set! I feel that we’ve worked together brilliantly as a group, and that we have shared responsibilities and work load equally. I’m interested to see how things go on the shoot and if there are any changes we make or parts we decide to add in on the day. I probably shouldn’t say this, but... so far so good!

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