# data[].attributes.body
On the first day of rehearsals I was still quite unsure of what I was meant to be doing during the sessions. I had written down a few ideas but I was very lost. Lucy seemed to have more of an idea so I asked her about it and was able to pick up on what was going on. the rehearsals went very quickly so I found it quite hard to keep up which is when me and Lucy decided that one of us would do the odd scenes and the other would do the even. This made the second half of the first rehearsal a lot easier as I felt I could keep up with what was going on.

Notes from the lesson:

WEEK 1 – AFTER EASTER – MON 15.04.24

SCENE 1 SHOT 1A PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO–

Dialogue starting off screen, hearing clicks from the camera, pan to equipment on the floor. 5 second segments for the first scene.

Set up list –

SOUND- 2 lapel wireless mics and boom pole.

PROPS & SET DESIGN- Photography equipment, lens, filters, camera bag, different flashes which can be manually put on, tripod, different parts of costumes, makeup, shoes, clothing rack.

LIGHTING- Model needs to be lit evenly, 3-point lighting, no shadows.

COSTUME- coats, hats, shoes.

MAKEUP- Makeup box (also used as a prop).

CAMERA- 50mm slider

SHOT 2A

Over Grace’s shoulder.

Rehearsal notes –

Makeup box comes into shot first, then shoes, then equipment.

9

SHOT 3A

Lilys POV, shot changes halfway through grace rotating the camera. Zooming out on first shot, when moved to second, 1 take zooming in and 1 take zooming out.

SHOT 2B

SHOT 4

14mm lens wide

SCENE 2

PROPS – sign for taxi.

SHOT 1

Shot in rear view mirror.

SHOT 2

Close up of camera screen.

SCENE 4

Drink

Towel for hair

Even scenes for footage for set up list

11

SHOT 3A Grace in the bath

SHOT 3B

Grace falls down

SCENE 12

SHOT 1A

Sound of hospital

Black sheets

Duct tape

Railings are already there.

3 shots – 2 reverse 1 wide.

Design – Clipboard, blood pressure monitor.

DAY 2 - Lucy got a head start on the set up lists whilst I was speaking to props and set about what they had sourced. Once the first hour was up, Vedad asked if I wanted to direct to which of course I said yes. I really felt like I was in my element for the rest of the day, and I began to really understand the shot lists and get a grip of what they meant to a director. Whilst directing I managed to make all my notes for every scene. I really enjoyed working one on one with the actors and getting Bens visions from a camera perspective. The free rein let me really work with the vision I had in my head for the film and I think I definitely will benefit me in the long run.

Notes I made in the lesson:

WEEK 1 TUES 16.04.24

SCENE 13

SHOT 1A – 54s (Take 1) 56s (Take 2)

Bed moved out the way, desk put back in

Joe and Maya sat opposite Liv – opening scene extreme close up on the file, slowly zooms out.

Confidential file

Dressed in black.

Hair and makeup- pale

SHOT 2A-2C – medium close up

Over the shoulder in between Maya and Joe, face on Liv.

SHOT 1B

SCENE 14

USB STICK

DRINK FOR FRIDGE

Brings the USB stick closer to the camera to create false zoom.

SCENE 15

USB STICK

MACBOOK

SCENE 16 1B – EXTREME CLOSE UP OF NOTE

SCENE 15 REACTION TO VIDEO COMES AFTER FRIDGE SCENE

SCENE 17 PROPS- MIRROR NEEDED. (SOPHIE BRING)

Foley Sound sourcing beforehand?

SCENE 17

BAG

CAMERA

NOTE

JUMPER

MIRROR

SCENE 18 –

WALKING DOWN PAVEMENT FOR 10 SECONDS LOOKING AT ADDRESSES – SEE A DOOR AND STOP – GOES AROUND BACK OF BUILDING

SCENE 19 – MAG COURT INT

GRACE BAG

GRACE NOTE

GRACE CAMERA

ELIVS COSTUME

SHOT 1

GRACE WALKS UP STAIRS

SHOT 2

WALKS DOWN CORRIDOR

SHOT 3

STAIRS

SHOT 4

COMING THROUGH DOOR L SHAPE LOOKING UP AT DOME

SHOT 5

INTO COURT ROOM – BIRDS EYE VIEW

SHOT 6

UPWARDS SHOT OF ROBYN ASLEEP IN DOCK- DOME PRODOMINANTLY IN VIEW AND ONLY A SMALL BIT OF ROBYNS FACE – WHEN LIV PUTS HER BAG DOWN ROBYN’S EYES OPEN AND HE SITS UP.

SHOT 7A

NOAH SITS UP IN THE BACKGROUND – GRACE IS IN THE FOREGROUND “BABE…”

SHOT 8

REVERSE SHOT OF GRACE OVER NOAHS SHOULDER.

SHOT 9 – 4 CAMERAS – 2 NEXT TO EACHOTHER TO GET THE GLITCH IN POST. 1 BIRDS EYE AND ONE ON THE BAG.

WIDE OF GRACE AND NOAH AND THE CAMERA

SHOT 10

GRACE’S BAG SO SHES ALWAYS COVERED

SHOT 11

AGENTS CAMERA

NOAH GETS HIS PICTURE TAKEN BY THE AGENTS – VEDAD WANTS TO BREAK THE 180 RULE TO SHOW THE WORLDS BEEN THROWN OFF (MAKE SURE 2 CAMERAS ARE NEXT TO EACHOTHER SO WE CAN MAKE NOAH VANISH.

SCENE 20

SHOT 1

INT GRACE NOSE BLEED BATH POV

SCENE 21

SHOT 1

AGENTS PEERING THROUGH THE GLASS ON THE DOOR LOOKING OMNIUS – MAYA FIRST THEN JOE

SHOT 2

PRISONER

HANDCUFFS – PROPS

SHOT 3

BOX OF EVIDENCE – PROPS

SHOT 4

RECEPTIONEST POINTS TO WHERE THE BOSS IS AND MAYA CARRIES BOX OF EVIDENCE

SCENE 21

SHOT 1

BOX OF EVIDENCE

STAMP

CONSENT FORM TO STAMP ON

# data[].attributes.body
breakdown

creative ideas

locations

costumes

departments - mood boards

# data[].attributes.body
Vedad gave me and Lucy the task of casting the film which we both have found very exciting. we already have a vision as to who we think would suit each role, however the majority of the cast were very interchangeable which makes our lives a bit harder. despite this, we both agreed on the same people we thought would suit the roles. To make our lives easier, we emailed people and asked them if they would audition for 2 roles each so we didn't have to go through all of the self tapes for every character and to also give us a depth of field to know what we were working with. We came up with a teams message together and each took 3 people to email with who we wanted them to audition for. We were a bit taken back when our message got taken entirely the wrong way (the teams message and how I felt with it will be in the slide to the right). Personally I think I handled this well, even though we didn't receive the self tapes we'd asked for from Queeneth, which made me and Lucy panic a bit as we thought that if we didn't give her a big enough role she would likely be unhappy again. We always wanted her to play the role of Lily but because of this message, which also got sent to us personally, in a snapchat group chat, and separately to Vedad, we decided to settle for a happy medium where we thought she would fit accordingly.

Once we had tracked down all of the self tapes, Lucy and myself watched them in our own time before having a phone call to discuss who we thought would be suit which role. Olivia Black really pulled it out of the bag for her audition and we were both very impressed and immediately saw her playing the main role of Grace. Because she was on hair and makeup, it also made it easier for her to balance both roles as Grace would appear in ever scene bar 3.

# data[].attributes.body
We started the class by casting the film. Myself and Lucy had already discussed casting and when we watched the self tapes with Vedad and told him our ideas for the casting, he agreed.

WEEK 2 – SELF TAPES AND CASTING

OLLY-

Cast as LILY.

MAYA –

Agent 2.

JOE –

Cast as Agent 1.

ROBYN –

Cast as Noah.

OLIVIA –

Cast as Grace.

QUEENETH –

Cast as Trainee Nurse.

We then pulled in all of the actors and told them who would be playing which role. All of them seemed to be happy with our decision which was very reassuring as we knew it would be a painful process if we had made enemies in week 2! Unfortunately Olly was ill when we did the casting so I emailed them to let them know they had been cast in the role of Lily which they seemed thrilled about.

We then went on to do a full script breakdown with Vedad. I understood it but some people found it a little bit harder to grasp so I helped them to understand the vision and after a few attempts of explaining it they got it.

We then went on to discuss who would be running the socials page and Robyn volunteered. This started to make everything feel a little bit more real.

CASTING

UPDATED BREAKDOWN

SOCIAL MEDIATRACKING SHEET

# data[].attributes.body
DESIGN – MAIN FOCUS FOR THIS WEEK.

1st ad – time, shot list, resources, keeping target.

2nd ad – makes sure things that are supposed to be coming into each shoot are there, actors, equipment, costume etc. – set up list - shot list, storyboard, people, props, everything that needs to be in the shoot in one list. – leave until last day so can go away and continue.

Class Discussion –

·      Camera – shots per scene

·      Lighting – gets dimmer as it gets more tense.

·      Sound – atmospheric shots and booms.

# data[].attributes.body
Discussing script changes as a group- added a new end scene as well as props like the phones, laptop and usb to become more time appropriate.

Draft 3

Breakdown

Locations

# data[].attributes.body
Lucy, Vedad and myself had a meeting to discuss how to mark up the script and about backup locations. We've had some issues with the airbnb we wanted to rent as they asked for £500 instead of our requested £80 so now we need to look into finding another location for GRACE's house.

I messaged someone I know on photography to see if they can hire out vintage cameras and I also messaged the props and costumes department to discuss how they were sourcing certain items such as old phones and to make sure they were on the same page about who was sourcing what such as handbags, sunglasses etc.

These were my notes from the meeting:

·      Abandoned magistrates court in Bolton for the time travelling.

·      Photography studio is a go ahead – 18th or 19th, pediatric clinc could be the week before or the court. House will have to be midweek for prices.

·      Rehearsal space on floor 7 for the first 2 days.

·      House is coming on nicely.

·      Speak to props, ask them what they’ve got. How are they planning to get everything in time. – telephone handset, magazines the camera is sorted, baseball bat is sorted, MacBook is sorted,

·      Speak to props about getting a good flash for the camera.

·      Message Hannah Bailey about 80s cameras and if you can book them out on the store.

·      Floor planning – what can we expect from locations in terms of size so we know for rehearsals.

·      Film in 6k on a 2k sensor so we can zoom in.

·      Shot list.

·      Shot 1.1 1.2 1.3 etc for shot list.

·      Do it per page, e.g. over the shoulder looking at Grace- (OTS) GRACE. We don’t see Lilys lips so we use a squiggly line which means in terms of footage – in this shot she will; speak of screen and means sound- we don’t need a boom mic on lily coz we won’t see her lips, in terms of sound, the boom mic will only be on grace.

# data[].attributes.body
Myself, Lucy and Vedad all decided that the best decision was to split both 1st AD and 2nd AD to lessen the work load and to get experience in both.

# data[].attributes.body
Compiling all shoot documents into one sheet for shoot.

PLANNING

RISK ASSESSMENT

SCHEDULE

CALL SHEETS

SETUP LIST

SHOT LIST

# data[].attributes.body
I researched more into my role and Set up lists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85-AW6j67Vw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyauhijkCwc

# data[].attributes.body
I began by making some group chats with each team such as lighting, sound, camera, makeup/hair, costume/props and location. This made it a lot easier to find their documents and talk to them specifically.

# data[].attributes.body
17th Half day

Poorly lit room video transition (we wanted to film this at Graces home but set in the future it would be poorly lit and look different - for example it would be tidy while Grace in 1999 would be untidy)

18th*

1Interview Room

19th

Hospital Room

20th

Photography Studio

21st

Museum (this would be an hour shoot so could be in frst few days)

22nd

Graces Home

23rd

Graces Home

24th

Natural Park + Taxi going to natural park

25th

Taxi 1 (this would be an hour to shoot so could be on the first day)

26th

Vedad’s scene

# data[].attributes.body
Rehersals, blocking for production, taking notes for set-up lists for props, camera, lighting, costume.

# data[].attributes.body
We headed to stockport on Thursday afternoon, I made a deal with Lucy that if she did the set up list, I'd go to the shoot as we needed a reduced crew. When we arrived, the clouds started rolling in and we became concerned about the rain as we were shooting outside. Luckily the rain held off for the most part with just a light spit. We came prepared with umbrellas and packed all the equipment back into the cars. The first shot of the day took us a few attempts as we had to make sure the car pulled into shot. When we did the reverse shot, we realised that we could see my reflection in the car window so we had to do a couple more takes. The day ran very smoothly, with us finishing the last shot of the day in Vedads car. Overall, the shoot ran very smoothly and the footage was great!

# data[].attributes.body
The call time was 8:30am which was a bit of a shock to the system. Due to a crash on the motorway, a lot of people arrived a bit late, however there wasn't much that could've been done about it. However, that didn't stop myself and Lucy to try and push people to keep on schedule. We were meant to start the first scene at 9:30am but this did not happen and after we'd set everything up and the actors were ready, we ended up starting around 10:45am. Vedad left Lucy and myself to direct that day and I absolutely loved it. We were unanimous in our decisions and the crew supported us the whole day. I really felt like we could bring the vision to life and have our ideas be heard. Olly and Liv were so fun to work with on this scene, allowing us to really take on the role of assistant directors, with them fully embracing what we directed them to do. We got through so much that we managed to finish an hour early despite the hour and 15 minute delay in the morning. When I tried to upload my Set up lists on teams it wouldn't allow it so I sent them to Bella, Lily and Lucy instead to upload.

# data[].attributes.body
Over the weekend my car broke down and had to be recovered by the AA so I was left stranded in Warrington until it was fixed. Luckily, Ben Scott came to my rescue and gave me lifts to locations. This benefited both of us greatly as it gave us an extra hour to discuss our ideas for the shots that were coming up for that day as he was mainly operating the camera. much to our excitement, both of our visions for this film matched up so when we were on set it made explaining these ideas a lot quicker, allowing us to have more time to film. However, filming on this day was particularly long with the first scene taking us all morning to complete. This meant we had less time to shoot the interview scene, meaning we had to shoot it in less takes than we'd hoped for. To make this even harder, a particular crew member struggled to keep quiet in-between takes which meant we had to take more time to ask them to be quiet, as well as this, their lights kept dying during takes, meaning even more valuable time got wasted. Despite this, the actors cooperated very professionally and listen to every piece of advice we gave and responded accordingly. It was a quick turnaround to pack up as we had overrun on the schedule slightly due to human error as mentioned before. Personally, I would say we got all the footage we were hoping to get on this day and it has made me excited for what's to come as I feel that the way I envisaged this film going is exactly the place it is heading to!

# data[].attributes.body
We encountered a few problems this morning as the first shot we did was outside the front of Bolton Hall. Cars, vans, lorries and Ubers all drove by as we were trying to get the right shot. The public were very unaware of us filming as they happily walked in the background of the shoot. Despite this, we managed to get the best shots we could with minimum crew outside as the others set up inside, getting Robyn all kitted out to play Noah. We found that there wasn't a great deal of plug sockets in the main Court room which made it very challenging to plug in all the lights and the cameras when needed. Not only this, but the big glass box in the middle of the room made it a pain to light as we could constantly see the reflection of the lights and the shadows of the cameras, and sometimes us! We managed to work it all out in the end and we got some really nice shots of Liv (GRACE) and Robyn (NOAH). We then moved on to the Agents and I had the idea of having the camera tilted up at them to make them seem more superior than Noah. Personally I think this shot looks very Tarantino and obscure which fits perfectly with the roles of the agents as they are weird and futuristic. Over all, day 4 was really good, we managed to finish ahead of schedule and everyone had a good, but slightly stressful time!

# data[].attributes.body
I woke up at 6:30am to get ready to be picked up by Ben at 7:00am to head back to Bolton Hall. Luckily, we all knew the traffic was a pain so everyone had planned ahead and we all arrived closer to the correct time than the last time we were there. I found this day very stressful as we had a lot to get through and minimal time to get through it. It took a while to set up the first scene and rehearse it. To make matters worse I had a 4 day long headache which was still very much present. It took all morning to get the right shots for this scene which meant the next 3 scenes we had to do were going to be really tight. After a quick lunch break we headed down to the prison cells to set up for the next scene. Some people took longer than others to get down stairs which was infuriating as I knew we did not have time to loose. We managed to complete the prison scene in 2 hours which meant we were still behind schedule. however we came up with a plan that the people who were not required for the prison scene were to set up the reception area so we could simply move all of the equipment upstairs and start straight away. Lucy had the clapperboard and called for the final shot of the day, however I had an idea for one more shot. I spoke to Vedad about it and he approved so I just had to convince Lucy that it would be a one take wonder and that we would be out by the correct time. Lily Wilson, who played the receptionist understood what I meant straight away, however Ben took a little more convincing when I kept asking him to lower the camera. Despite this, the shot looked incredible and was, in my opinion the best shot of the day. we managed to pack everything up and get out of the building by the allotted time and everyone was happy with how the day went!

# data[].attributes.body
Today we are shooting in my boyfriends apartment which makes my life a lot easier as I am already on set. I picked up Calum and Sam from the train station and by the time I had got back, Hollie, Liv and Ben had all arrived. Due to the limited space in the flat, I suggested to Lucy and Vedad that we have some crew cuts and they agreed. We managed to cut the team practically in half and gave some members both days off as they had been there every day of filming. Others will be coming in tomorrow so everyone gets at least 1 day off with the exception of Bella, Myself, Lucy, Vedad, Robyn M and Ben. Unfortunately, this morning did not go as planned with the crew member who had all the lighting equipment oversleeping. I knew this was going to happen at some point, however we had 7 scenes to get through and it was vital that we used every second. We got in touch with Vedad as he as meant to be picking up the equipment and the crew member and he suggested that we start with the future self recording as we wouldn't need lights for that anyway. So Lucy and I informed everyone of the plan and we cracked on. We were on the last take of the scene when Vedad arrived with the equipment which meant we could move straight on to some of the more technical scenes such as when the camera was in the fridge. None of use knew how long this shot was going to take and I was really surprised when it took us a little over an hour to complete. After a 45min lunch break we moved on to the bedroom scenes. I think because the day hadn't gone as we had planned it, we all go the giggles, including Vedad. It took us 8 takes to get a shot of Liv reading that didn't have all of us giggling in the background. It was nice that this happened as it showed that actually even though we were all overly tired and stressed, we were still having fun with the project. We wrapped for the day around 6:30pm having completed all the shots we needed for that day. The crew left all their equipment here to make it easier for them for tomorrows shoot.

# data[].attributes.body
The last day of filming! I have absolutely loved working on this project and its really solidified my choice with becoming a director post-university.

When the crew arrived, everyone was in a good mood but also very sleep deprived. Despite this, we all knew we needed to crack on as we still had so much to do. The shooting schedule once again went a bit off course after Vedad told us he wanted to redo one of the shots from the day before. Lucy and myself shared a very concerned look but we trusted Vedad. Other than that the day was smooth sailing until we got to the final scene which became very technical. we had to get Liv to lie in the bath, her legs were tangled with the tripod, and then somehow she had to leave the bath without touching or knocking the tripod. Some how, it only took 2 attempts. All that was left was ambience and some sound effects and then we were WRAPPED!

# data[].attributes.body
Discussed with set design what kind of colour scheme they wanted and we came to an agreement on this range.

# data[].attributes.headline
Looking at other short films that use the concept of time travel to look at their colour schemes and the way they edit the time travel

# data[].attributes.subject
Looking at other short films that use the concept of time travel to look at their colour schemes and the way they edit the time travel

# data[].attributes.body
I really like the colour grading of this piece and think our piece would benefit following something similar.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SPLIT | SciFi Short Film | Time Travel | Drama

# data[].attributes.body
I liked the angles that were chosen for this piece, however it isn't very fitting for what we are doing.

# data[].attributes.body
the 10 Minute Time Machine is the film that is closest to our concept as it uses a camera similar to ours. I think the shots are very well fitting and I would look at suggesting using similar ones in our piece.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sci-Fi Short Film: "10 Minute Time Machine" | DUST

# data[].attributes.body
Weston, J. (1996). Directing Actors. Michael Wiese Productions.

I read the first couple of pages of Judith Weston's book, Directing Actors and I highlighted a few key points that resonated with me. "you give the actor direction..." I have worked with directing actors before and I find that it's a lot easier to give them suggestions when it comes to things such as facial expressions. In my opinion, if you give actors more of a free rein when directing them, they often produce work better than you could've thought of. When giving small pointers, for example, on this line if you roll your eyes when feels necessary, often the shot you get looks a lot more realistic than telling them to do it on a spesific word or phrase. This is because the actor feels like they have to embrace the character more and really take into consideration when the character would roll their eyes rather than when I would want them to.

# data[].attributes.body
InFocus Film School. (n.d.). 6 tips for succeeding as an assistant director. Retrieved from https://infocusfilmschool.com/6-tips-for-succeeding-as-an-assistant-director/

I think these 6 tips are vital going into the role as an AD. With the little knowledge I already have I think this advice is really helpful. I'm already relatively good at most of these so I'm not too panicked about filming however, I am not very good at being time conscious so I will have to spend more time on shooting schedules to ensure I definitely give enough time for every shot so we don't fall behind, especially seen as we have a time limit in Bolton Hall and have to be out by 4:15pm.