Post production developments

Back again for another update! It's been all go lately I have to say, mainly in the process of editing and adding the Devil's tail into most of the shots. As it's meant to be obviously fake and inconsistent, the movement isn't so I've decided to keep the position of the tail consistent to the previous shot but not identically so it conveys absolutely no movement at all. I'm certain that these shots will be done by the end of this week. In the meantime, there isn't really any point in uploading the shots to final cut until the tail has been added to all the shots I need.

Pickup shots may be another problem. The weather is forecast to be pretty good this weekend which will be in stark contrast to the rain and clouds over the shoot so difficulties lie there! May well have to postpone it until next week. (Though that will have to be the absolute limit as time is most definitely of the essence)

I'm also sorting out the voiceover to do the narration for the film so everything is running in the right direction, its all a question of carrying on!

Now back to the shots!

Main shoot over!

Right! A huge weight off my mind right now! at least 97% of the footage I need has been shot. Working in still photographs has been completely different to almost everything I have done recently. Much simpler for a start considering that I don't have to constantly worry about sound or anything like that. It has got it's downsides however as the blood spitting shot was difficult to capture with a stills camera. I got round that by having the minion character disappear and leave "bloodstains" in its place.

A number of the shots came out as blurry but I think I can make them work in the context of the story. It'll give it more of a sense of movement as well so I recon that it's serendipity in a way. However, I'll need to check that Emily's foot shots have come out relatively clear or else the Devil's tail insertion may be more difficult than I thought. Plus with the fact that I have to keep this fifteen minutes long and cutting out a lot of material may cut down the run time too much.

The shoot started a little bit later than I originally expected (12:40pm) but things went smoothly enough to say the least. Due to the characters having to walk through a muddy field most of the time, it became incredibly problematic. Fortunately, we weren't plagued with problems that threatened to stop the shoot. Emily only used her high heels on the shots she had with her feet. However, it was entirely nessecary for her to walk through some degree of ploughed earth in high heels because that's how the Devil had been characterised and THAT'S EXACTLY the kind of thing I wanted visually.

I had some assistance from other people. Emily's boyfriend David came along as production assistant and both my parents came along to provide food. Both of which I was grateful for to say the least!

The shoot took up most of the afternoon and come the final shots in the cemetary, the light was beginning to fade (About 4:30 pm). I may well come back to the location in order to do a few pickup shots - provided the weather is consistent enough for the sake of continuity - and maybe with a few extras if I can muster them.

All in all, I'm pleased with what I have achieved so far!

New year first post

2010 New Year first post! Now that christmas is over its time to get down to business once more. Dissertation inevitably took priority (involving a lot of nights of disrupted sleep, anxiety and frustration etc etc but got there in the end and now on the home stretch)

Now to crack on with the film and make a good job of it. A lot of snow and it is really a mixed blessing. On one hand, it may well make the shoot incredibly problematic but on the other hand, there is potential for some really good photography. As I have the intentions of shooting it with a stills camera instead of a HD, it allows for further potential and a slightly simpler shoot with fewer technical problems to worry about.

There are two spanners in the works though.

The first one being the fact that the church I originally intended to shoot the funeral scene won't allow it due to association with the Devil. Understandable to a degree but presented a problem as to shooting in a graveyard. However, I have found a fairly derelict one a mile or so away.

The second is extras for the funeral scene. I have had very little luck so far and would very much like to do a few wide shots. (Possibly as a homage to Doctor Zhivago but mainly because of the striking imagery and there will be very little potential for overuse of close up in my opinion.) I won't need many, possibly about ten or so and they'll have to get transport to the location and back. Emily (who'll be playing the Devil) could double up as an extra for the long shots and wide shots and her boyfriend kindly passed on that he would be willing to play an extra. I won't need a huge amount, just enough to make a small crowd. Ten would probably be the minimum but accessability is one of the biggest problems.

At a push I COULD ask some of my former neighbours as I used to live very close to the location but that would be at very short notice so the likelihood of their participation is still fairly low.

I think Dave has already gone to do his shoot today, not sure whether the weather will be a problem for him or not, pity though because I DID offer to help out in some way or other...

six days and counting.