26th January - More Filming

Today i reshot the gun and Trilby letter scene. I found an appropriate location for the gun, a safe. I also wanted to add extra props to link the characters together within the trailer. I used a brown Jiffy envelope and a black filofax for the actress to put into the envelope.

The filming of the safe was difficult as i had to position the camera and me inside a small wardrobe to see the Trilby opening the safe and being able to see the content. I shot several angles, this way i would be able to choose the best one when it came to post production. I also lit the inside of the wardrobe so that the shadows fell inside the safe, but you could still see the content on camera.

I also filmed a few shots of the female actress putting the items in the envelope. The most difficult part of this was making sure the word 'TRILBY' was clearly visible on the envelope and always the right way up on camera. Again i shot this from several angles to give myself a choice of the best one in post production.

I always wanted to develop the femme fatale further. I shot the female character putting on her red lipstick, whilst looking in the mirror. the idea is to have a cross dissolve into her other character, The Trilby. This will allow the audience to make a connection as well as show the female characters femininity and power that is shown in the love scenes aswell.

The issue with filming with mirrors is trying not to have you and the camera visible in the reflection, and also being able to get the angle you want. This was a challenge but i overcame it, with careful positioning. The shots filmed today will hopeful further develop the narrative without giving away too much.

Rough Final Cut

I have sumbitted this peice for critique to my course teacher and got some good feedback that i intend to use to improve this further.

My view of this peice was that it had vastly improved from my initial rough cut, but i was aware that it could still be greatly improved. I already re-shot alot of footage and this time used artificial lighting in order to create the dark shadow feel that is so common in the film noir genre.

Feedback:

- Narrative structure is alot better

- Text for titles is appropriate for genre

- Black and white also fits conventions

- Time between forst and second title is too long

- Shot one has a lighting issue.

Shot two needs to be revised. Would a killer really have a gun on the sideboard? Also focus is bad.

- Bar scene lighting is porr. Needs to be redone. Perhaps change location?

- Pace needs to be kept up

- Lampost shot moved to 2:00:07

- The title shot of 'Trilby' is not centered

- Try do reduce the length to a minute

After a discussion with my course teacher i set about planning the shots that needed to be redone and thought about how using different locations might be more beneficial. I want to add extra props in order to link the Trilby and the male character (Andy) together. I will also use and expriment with more shots in order to establsih their connection within the trailer.

Conclusion

The magazines i have looked at show that the main image should dominate the page and overlap the masthead of the magazine, and other features on the cover.

It can be a shot taken from the film that takes up the whole cover, or a posed shot with an added background featuring the colour scheme from the promotional materials of the film.

The teasers should relate to the main feature of the magazine but the odd one on other features within the magazine. It can also include freebies or downloads featuring film material.

It usually only features one character from the film. I should therefore use my actress on my front cover.

Keep to a three colour scheme, and use a font that is similar to the title of the film. Which would be a itallic script font.

Magazine Research 3

The character dominates the cover, and the name of him is in bold. The image is infornt of the masthead and teasers to catch the attention of the audience.

The colours used, match the ones used for the film itself. The magazine inkeeps with a three colour scheme.

The image of the character looks as if it has been posed, rather than taken from the film itself. This is different to the other two i have looked at.

Magazine Research 2

The main figure overlaps the masthead. It is a shot from the film, showing the actor in character.

The name of the film overlaps the main image and keeps in with the colour scheme of red, grey and white.

There are tag lines saying what the article inside entails. There are also teasers for other articles behind the main image of Depp.

The font used for the film is the same used on promotional material for the film.

Magazine Research

Masthead matches the font that is associated with the movie itself. There is an illustrated picture of the actor in his character.

Long shot of character, surrounded by a location from the film.

Teasers of articles within the magazine. The font it all the same and there is a three colour scheme, and variants of those colours.

Freebies are advertised to do with the film. The main feature is eye catching to attract the audience.

Filming January 12th 2010

This was the last filming date scheduled before I focused completely on post production. I had to ensure that everything was done properly due to the fact it was my last filming session. I filmed the shot of the actress coming out of the door and dropping the gun again. The snow on the ground presented a challenge as it was slippery and the actress had to run away from a shot, i had to take safety precuations to make sure she didnt injure herself.

Taking advantage of the snow on the ground, i used the fake blood and splattered it around, making the 'murder' look more realistic. I also re-shot the actress taking her hat off, as the lighting in the previous shots of this was limited. This time i shot these first to avoid the rapidly fading light effecting my shots. I was able to use artificial lighting for when she walked out the door, which meant i could shoot that later on in the evening. I have learnt that you need to think of the environment that you are working in, and how it will affect your work. For example resheduling shoots because of weather conditions and shooting particular scenes first to avoid factor such as light affecting the shot.

After redoing these shots, I moved onto the couple shots of the main actress and actor. I decided to do away with the previous scenes i had shot, as i changed the actresses costume and had a better idea for the scene. This idea proved more difficult than i had anticipated, as i wanted to have the actopr pushed up againt a door which had a mirror on it, i had to enusre i wasnt seen it the mirror and also that the actress was seen in the mirror as she pushed him up against the door. This had to be shot several times because i couldnt get the angle right with the actors, i wanted the female to be seen more to show she was a more dominant figure in their relationship. Furthermore, i wanted to have another shot of the actor about to leave before being shoved against the wall, the issue i had was not breaking the 180 degree rule, which i managed to achieve and continuity, which will have to be ensured in post production.

Overall i think that the last film shoot went well, as i achieved what i wanted and was able to experiment with a few other things such as blood in the snow and different camera angles and techniques.