Single Cam Evaluation
Son of Ash
For the single cam assignment we were asked to get into
groups of our choice and produce a 10-minute short film. We used scripts from
our previous assignment scriptwriting. I was asked by Callum to be involved in
his short film, he asked me to be the camera woman/cinematographer. It was a
group made up of 5 people; Callum, Holly, Myself, Nicole and Beth W, combined
we were a group who were willing to take the time out to film and not let
anyone down last minute, we all had the drive to make a good college short. We
all possessed different skills and qualities and this meant our film would meet
the standards of the brief.
To meet the requirements of the brief we had to make
sure the story was recognisable and that it flowed throughout. We had to make
sure the angles, shots and framing was well executed.
We sat down as a group and discussed the initial idea
of the film. Before our first film date we had 5 production meetings and from
the beginning we knew the production wasn’t going to be easy, we knew we would
come across a few obstacles such as location, props and actors but we had to
find a solution. We received quite a bit of disbelief from a few people; they
didn’t think we could pull it off, because of the nature of the film and
because of the script, this did put a lot of pressure on us but we persevered,
if anything in a way it motivated us to make it even better. In another
production meeting we come to an agreement about job roles.
- · Beth W – Photographer
- · Beth F (myself) – Camera woman
- · Holly – Producer
- · Nicole – Make up
- · Callum – Director
We were all happy with our roles and we agreed to swap
and change rolls throughout.
We come across a few problems with location, we
thought we bagged the perfect location for this film; it was a run down manor
that they now use for a weekend zombie apocalypse experience. Callum emailed
the owner but by the time it was time for us too start shooting the owner
started to charge £80 an hour, which is understandable but this meant we had to
change our idea. It put us down because we were set on this certain location
but we had to carry on, we realised that this will happen in the industry. For
a solution we emailed a selection of run down buildings around Manchester but
sadly nobody replied. In the end we filmed in the woods in Mossley close to
Callum’s house, these things happen but we had to get on with the production.
Day 1
filming
We all met at Callum’s house, some had to travel further
than other but nobody complained. We arrived at Callum’s at 11 and didn’t get
out filming till half 2 due to make up but we wanted to make sure it was
perfect. Filming at half 2 had it’s issues because the main actor had to be
back for half 7 and we wanted to get the first scene done on that day. The
first real problem we came across was the boom, we were given the wrong
microphone for the boom but we should have checked that before we took it. The
second problem was the H2’s with the on body mic’s, we decided to use these for
a clear audio but they wouldn’t work with the mic’s so we used the H2 alone and
the sound was better than we expected. When we had gotten back to college we
were informed the H2’s were in fact in the wrong setting and that’s why the
mic’s wouldn’t work. These little things were just another learning journey for
us, as we are still college students we are still taking in a lot and learning
a lot and we need to make the mistakes to learn. As the night went on people were getting tired and
cold and we tried to keep the cast and ourselves happy, still no one complained
and we got on with it. The camera then began to run out of battery so we had to
film quick and you can see the rush in the fight scene.
Day 2
filming
Due to working I could not make it for the second day
of filming which upset me, as I wanted to be involved as much as possible but
the rest of the group made an amazing effort and got through it and produced
some great shots and angles which made the film better. Beth Wilson was on the
camera for this scene, Callum and Holly directed and Nicole did the make up.
The group I was in was a great group to work with. We
all put so much effort in to make sure we met the requirements of the brief.
After the disbelief we received we got on and some of use were worried but we
put that belief back in and ended up producing some good shots. Nobody in the
group moaned and we all got along well and this is the type of group I would
work with again.
Editing
I used Final Cut Express to edit my version of Son Of
Ash and I would say after 3 years using the software that I’m fairly skilled. I
did need a little help but I was finding my way on my own for most things. I
still have so much to learn using the software but editing things like this
helps me along the way, working out how to do things myself also helps because
I’m learning to be independent.
As we used H2’s for the audio we had to use a
clapperboard to sync the audio up when it came to editing. Firstly I started to
put the clips on without the sound and get the clips edited but I decided it
would take to long to sync it up after and the clips will move so I put the
sound in with the clips from the beginning. I found problems with putting the
audio in as I’m editing the clips because if I got so far into it and then
decided I wanted to add jump cuts for example it meant moving the audio and it
becoming out of sync again, this was time consuming. I am very meticulous about detail so my edit
had to be clean and one little thing I would see but viewers may not would
annoy me until I fix it. I made sure I had sound effects for most of the edit
such as when ‘Adam’ puts his gun and chainsaw down my tutor and me used a
computer monitor and scraped it across gravel to re create the sound of putting
a chainsaw and shotgun down on gravel.
When I had nearly finished editing I had changed it
into HD on Final Cut, which took half an hour to render. I wanted to carry on
editing but I was running out of time and I was told it was good enough as it
was and I may take it over the top.
Overall I am happy with how much time, effort pride
and passion everyone put into filming. Honestly we were scared the film wasn’t
going to be good enough but the final outcome was amazing considering we are
only in college and we had no budget what so ever. I am so proud of our group
as we took in the negative comments and proved people wrong and the negativity
from people helped a lot, it pushed us to make it better and I think that’s
what people need sometimes.
Throughout the production I have learnt so much about
cameras, audio and editing. I have considered styles and projected them onto
the film and these are things I may not have done before.
I am happy with my final edit and I’ve learned so much
on Final Cut, if I could id still fix the little glitches such as sound and the
opening but I was running out of time and it needed to be exported.
This was a great way to end my 3 years in college, it
let me show my personal style in editing and editing is what I’m moving on to
do in Uni. It also shows how much I’ve learnt whether it was from my tutors,
other students or myself, it proves how much I’ve took in over the years
compared to my first film and I have college to thank for this.
