Progress Journal - Analytical Entry #2: Film Shoot - Day 1 / 2 at St. Stephen's Beach

         3rd October, 2014 was our group’s first filming day. However, things did not turn out the way we planned. Before shooting, we went to search for the missing costumes and props that we need at Stanley Market, and the search took us longer than we expected, as it is quite difficult to search for the items that we need in this big massive market. After that, it began to rain and we were not able to film on St. Stephen’s Beach as our scenes are set outdoors. We decided to spend the rest of the time preparing for our production portfolio by taking photos of our costumes and props, so that we would be well-prepared for our next shoot, and arranged another day and time to film. 

         Finding another day and time to film was not easy for our group. We communicated mainly through emails, and we all are free at different times. One of our group members created a spreadsheet for us to fill in dates to clearly list out when we are free. We finally organized a time for our second shoot. 

         Our next film shoot was on 23rd October, 2014. We started off with the actresses putting on makeup and changing into costumes. The director and I, the camera operator, collected the props that we brought. Unfortunately, one of us forgot to bring the prop gun and our prop map was missing. Moreover, we needed fake blood for our shooting scene, but we did not have all of the ingredients required to create fake blood. Nonetheless, we went to St. Stephen’s Beach to shoot the scenes that does not involve the use of fake blood and the missing props. During the shoot, I was operating the camera - although I took film in Year 8 as well, this is actually my first time being the camera operator. Setting up the tripod and microphone, and manually changing the settings of the camera, was at first complicated, but through practice, it becomes a piece of cake for me. The weather was very hot, but it was perfect for our scenes as the setting was a desert. We got part of our film shot, however, since we forgot to bring some of the props, we need to arrange another time to come to St. Stephen’s Beach to shoot the rest of the scenes. 

         I often find it hard for our group to be well-prepared and organized for film shoots. Not only is it difficult for us to gather together, but not every one of us is clear about what scenes we will be shooting, causing us to forget to bring equipment, props or costumes that we need. For example, I, as the camera operator, has all the film equipment - camera, shotgun microphone and tripod, but I left the equipment at school as I thought we would be shooting at school. However, it turned out that not everyone was free, therefore the shoot was cancelled. As a result, I had to go back to school during mid-term break just to retrieve the film equipment from my locker for our film shoot. To avoid this situation in the future, creating a list of items that we need to bring to the shoot may be helpful. Our group should also plan beforehand, instead of making last-minute decisions. Moreover, I think that I should work more on communicating with my group members. During the shoot, the actresses wanted the scene to be shot differently, but personally, I did not think that the scene should be shot that way. I find difficulty in expressing my own opinions, as I am more of a quiet listener than a talker. At last, I shot the scene using both ways and we will review the footage and decide on which one to use when editing. 

             Producing a film is not easy - it certainly takes a lot of effort and time to produce a good film, but I am looking forward to our following shoots.