Audience Feedback

We held a screening in the media block and asked members of our Target Audience (15-24 year old females) to fill in questionnaires.

We did audience feedback so that...

• We could see how effectively we appealed to our target audience
• We could see what we didn't make clear and if we had made any mistakes in our signifiers
• We could assess the effectiveness of our storytelling

Here are a few examples:

The feedback we got was predominately positive, however many people didn't understand some of the narrative we tried to set up, not understanding who had written the bucket list and who was in the photograph. All our target audience enjoyed our mise en scene, music and titles.

Grading

In this post, we discuss some problems we came across during the grading process and how we rectified them:

As our location meant that the light in our shots quickly changed and was quite overexposed we had to grade our edit quite a lot.

Also the mise-en-scene changed colour due to the differences in lighting, so we tried to grade our actor's costumes so they would look consistent enough that the audience would not notice the changes.

Tools we used:

• Procamp
• Three Way Colour corrector

We used Three Way colour corrector to change the colour balance of our shots, which was useful in creating a uniform look to our shots, and smoothing the transitions between shots that were taken on different days, or at different times. We also used it to make the sky look more colourful to reiterate that the sequence takes place at sunrise.

We used Pro camp to adjust the brightness and contrast of our shots, giving them a more cinematic feel and once again improving our sequence's uniformity.


We did this in order to improve the look and feel of our shots and to create the indie style we hoped to show through our shots.

Feedback 7.3.2013

On receiving extra feedback on our edit, we changed the following things:

• Make the bucket list shot longer so that the fact that it is the brother's list is more obvious - to do this we just slowed down the shot
• Adjust general sound levels so that the dialogue can be heard more easily, which helps to really anchor the narrative
• Make the 'In association with' and 'and' parts of the titles a smaller size

Feedback 5.3.2013

After a meeting on the 5th, we received feedback on how to improve our opening sequence edit:

• Need to fix the beginning bit of the first pan's speed
• The beginning montage cuts in then out then in again - make the progression in smoother
• Move 1st and 3rd (rooftops) title down a bit
• Move 2nd (London eye) title up
• Titles shouldn't be so synchronised to the cuts
• If the 'Emily Lawson' title is on the bench you have to do the same all the way through
• In the pan up to the sunrise you can't see that it is a bucket list  you need a shot to anchor it
• Cut the sunrise pan round because of the horrible zoom out

Adding a Camera Recording Effect

As we have a scene in which Lila is filming herself, with a shot from the camera's POV, we decided to put a title over the footage to indicate that she was doing so.

We did some research into ones that have already been made:

    

We then made our own using Adobe Photoshop, but when when we applied it to the clip it didn't look quite right. We then decided it lacked realism, so made another title so that the 'REC' sign would flash throughout the clip.

Recording our soundtrack

One of the members of our group, Emily, already writes songs and has her own YouTube Channel Emily Lawson Official. We didn't have much luck finding a suitable soundtrack on royalty free websites, so we decided to use one of Emily's own compositions, 'Train to anywhere':

We decided that the lyrics and name of this song best fit the themes of travel, youth and love that we were trying to express in our opening, as well as the acoustic guitar conforming to the conventions of the coming of age drama. We thought that this sort of music would also appeal to our target audience and reflect our character's youth and vitality.

Here is a video of Emily practicing before we re-recorded the song in school.

 

By using one of Emily's own composition we didn't have any copyright issues or royalty fees.

Possible Fonts for Titles

We researched different fonts to use for our titles, eventually deciding on 'Brainflower'. These fonts are all typical of the indie genre, with their handwritten style and thin letters reflecting the education and journeys that protagonists go on in Coming of age dramas.

Fonts:

Our Favourites	Other possible fonts
Brain Flower	Always Forever
DK Wayang	PW Quick Write
DK Vermilion	Cutie Patootie
Turkeyface	Throw My Hands Up In The Air
	DK Petit Oiseau
	Windsor Hand
	In the know

 

This is the font we used in our film:

 

 

We chose this font as it helped emphasise the youth and fun in our film, as well as reflecting the handwritten bucket list.

Techniques We Used When Edting

This is a ruond-up of some of the techniques we used during the editing process:

We were inspired by this video to try to use sound bridges in order to make our opening seem more professional and to reduce the abruptness of the cuts.

We tried a few sound bridges, but it was hard to find clips where the acting continued being of good quality for a longer period. We tried to have a sound bridge between th Ftont MLS master shot of Noah reading from the list and the canted angle MCU but found that the actor sniffed very loudly which detracted from the seriousness of what was being said.

However, we do have one on the cut where Jess says 'Noah, even I could get with more girls than you', and while Noah is saying 'Kiss as many girls as possible in one hour, I'm OK with that we tried cutting to a reaction shot of Jess.

28.2.2013 Editing To Do List

After watching the cut of our opening sequence several times, we discovered some things we need to fix that will improve the look and feel of our opening sequence, and will also make it look more professional:

• Fix the panning speed of the first shot
• Make the first shot slighter longer in duration
• Fix the bird sfx at the beginning - Perhaps razor the clips to create small gaps in the birdsong
• Get rid of the background noise on shot 14 (pan up from bucket list to sunrise)
• Add some background noise to the shot of Lil pulling away
• Make sure there is a match on action on the cut from the back master to the camera POV

Real Shoot - 9/01/13

Doing make-up

Here is the round-up of our real shoot, where we discuss how efficient we were, what we managed to capture and what we may still need to shoot:

Yet again we went to Primrose Hill to catch the dawn. This Saturday it was at 7.25, and although it was a very beautiful sunrise it didn't last very long. This meant that we didn't get the sunrise mise-en-scene in the background of the shots and the lighting that we had hoped for. This may also mean that it will not connote Lila's new beginning and the hope that would run throughout the film, instead focusing on Lila's grief. However, our test shoot footage from last week was shot during a clear and colourful sunrise so we could use it. There are problems with our test footage though, including script changes, and the production crew's shadows being seen in shot.

Also, one of our actors was unhappy with the early hours, and may not come againi if we have a re-shoot. Our footage has nice framing and quite good performances from our actor's so we hope that this will not be necessary.

Catching the sunrise 

There were not as many disruptive people on the top of the hill this week, apart from a group of young people taking photos, and some girls having a picnic on a bench. Sharlene and I let the people around us know we were shooting, and before every shot we made sure that we said 'Camera rolling? Silence on Set. Action'. This meant that fewer people walked into shot or talked loudly in the background, however the frequent and sudden arrival of a number of both small and very large dogs was often very offputting for our actors.

We tried to use the same costumes and mise en scene from last week's test shoot to ensure continuity, but we had to replace the bucket list, because we had initially written on both sides of the paper, which made the writing look less clear in the shot. Our newer bucket list was only written on one side of the piece of paper.

The actors practicing lines

We were far more prepared for our real shoot than the test shoot. This time, we thought more about our shoot schedule and how to shoot so that our actors could leave as soon as possible (due to the cold conditions). We were all also more prepared for the cold this time and we wore thermals and multiple layers, which allowed us to concentrate more on the filming rather than our shaking hands.
Throughout the shoot, we remained more focused and tried to shoot everything more efficiently.

We still need to go over our footage, but we think that we will have a back-up shoot at some point in half term because:
- we had a script change from our test shoot, and we might need to do the conversation shots again
- if we can't use the sunrise shots from our test shoot, we may have to redo some

Actor's Shoot Plans

To aid our efficiency and to help our actor's organise their day's around our shoots we made them shoot plans:

Emily’s Excellent Shoot Schedule!

Travel:

·         Depends on house crew is staying at

·         From your house: 299 change to the 134

·         From Sharlene’s house: Get Piccadilly line to King’s cross, then change to the Northern Line

·         From Anna’s house: Lift from Anna’s dad or same route as Sharlene’s house

Arrival Time: 7.30-40

Location: Top of Primrose Hill by the benches

Costume: Warm hipster jumper, boots, jeans/brown trousers, Rhiannon’s rucksack/satchel

Finish Time: Approximately 9.30

Character: Sad after brother’s death, hopeful, loves life, witty, likeable, strong, hipster, naïve

Jess’s Jumping Shoot Schedule!

Travel:

·         Possibly with Sharlene from Turnpike Lane Station, but this will mean an earlier start

·         Otherwise alone or possibly with other cast/crew members

·         Get the Picadilly Line from Turnpike Lane Station to King’s Cross St Pancras. From there change to the Northern line, and get off at Camden Town Tube Station or Chalk Farm Tube station

Location: Top of Primrose Hill by the benches

Costume: Doc Martens, dark (probably warm because it gets a bit chilly) clothes to contrast with Emily’s costume (basically your normal clothes), please wear clothes that you could re-wear in following shoots

Finish Time: Approximately 9.30

Character: Sarcastic, has friendly rivalry with Atticus (Torin), practical, holds the group together, VERY pretty, down to earth, loyal

Torin’s Terrific Shoot Schedule!

Travel:

• With Rhiannon by bus: 299 then 134
• Alternatively by the tube from Southgate station or Arnos Grove Station

Arrival Time: Approximately 8.10

Location: Top of Primrose Hill by the benches

Costume: Coat (and any other warm layers required), jeans, shirt, boots, please wear clothes that you could re-wear in following shoots

Finish Time: Approximately 9.30

Character: Lila’s love interest, friendly rivalry with Jess, a bit strange, thoughtful, witty

3rd Draft of Shot List

This is the 3rd shot list we made, as we changed our script and came up with new ideas for shots.

1-4. VLS pans of sunrise and scenery
5. Static VLS/ turn around to MS (pan?) - shakey - Lila starts vlogging
6. MS/CU front-on - see vlogging from behind the phone
7. MCU side-on
8. MS shakey - finishes vlog
9. MS/CU front-on - stops recording, starts putting it in her pocket
10. Canted angle MS - puts camera in her pocket
11. MLS - Lila on bench, takes out notebook from rucksack (pan)
12. OTS HA - bringing notebook towards herself and flicks through it, stops on photo (pan)
13. CU - Lila's reaction
14. ECU of photo - Lila strokes it
15. VLS (from bottom of hill)
16. Straight on MS of Lila looking down photo, then flicks to list, friends walking towards her in background call out and she turns round
17. OTS/side on MCU of her opening list/ticking off then pans up to look at the sunrise
18. Side on LS of Atticus and Jess walking towards Lila, with her sitting on the bench
19. Tracking MS of them sitting down next to her on bench
20. 2 shot of Jess showing Lila her camera
21. LS from behind - all 3 silhouetted against the sunrise
22. CU of Atticus as he says things
23. MCU of Lila and a bit of Jess
24. CU of Atticus
25. MCU of Lila and a bit of Jess
26. CU of Jess
27. CU of Atticus
28. CU of Jess
29. MS 3 shot from front/canted angle (pan?) .... Lila starts to get up
30. MS from back of bench facing sunrise... Lila finishes getting up and turns around. Starts to take out camera from pocket
31. CU canted angle of Lila finishing to put camera on bench
32. POV from camera (CU) Lila adjusting camera - "come on guys"
33. MS of camera on bench
34. POV from camera LS running to the edge of hill thing- "1, 2, 3, jump!" - freeze - title appears- come down - Lila runs towards it (Jess and Atticus giggling in the back) - Lila covers camera with her palm



 

Mise En Scene Inspiration

This post shows some of the inspiration for the mise-en-scene in our opening sequence, which was mostly from films of the same coming-of-age genre, some with an indie style.

We researched similar characters in films targeted at and aimed at young people, and used them as inspiration for our 3 main character's costume, hair and make up. We also researched props from other indie and coming of age films to inspire our mise en scene.

LILA
Our Hair and Make Up Inspiration:

Costume Inspiration:

JESS:

NOAH/ATTICUS:

 

PROPS:

 

 

Our Animatic

After completing our storyboard we made an animatic which allowed us to refine our shots even further. We took most of the pictures on our school field, with Sharlene and Anna filling in for the missing actors.

Doing the animatic also helped us with our script development, as saying the script out loud pointed out parts that sounded unrealistic, and we could work out the timing of the shots and adjust the script's length accordingly.

Costume Ideas

Here is a collage of photos of possible outfits for our main character, Lila:

We want Lila to have quite a quirky fashion sense, matching her character, and so the costume she wears in the opening is essential in helping to establish character. Here are a few of our costume ideas:

After pondering over the photos, we have decided to combine the jumper in the bottom left photo with the tan trousers in the bottom right and the scarf in the top right, complimented with an over-sized denim jacket to heighten her quirkiness, and make her look more individual. 

Possible Problems with Shoot

Our group got together and discussed the possible problems that could occur on the shoot so that we could plan for these problems and hopefully avoid them on the day


ORGANISATION

• Because Primrose Hill is a popular jogging sport, there may be quite a few unwanted people and sounds in the background of our shots - we will advert this by going very early (at sunrise)
• We have organised a group meeting at lunch time where we will get our kit release - and we will ensure that we'll all bring the kit we are looking after to the shoot by constantly communicating via our Facebook group or text
• We will also stay in communication on Sunday evening and Monday morning to ensure that we all know that we must bring in our kit
• We know who is doing what in our group, but we will make a list of our roles just to make sure we all know what tasks we have to do on the shoot
• We are in the process of making a shoot schedule, and in doing this we can make sure that our actors know when to turn up and where
• If one of our group members is absent from school, we'll remain in contact with them throughout the day, and update them on everything that they missed
• As we are planning to shoot some of the sunrise, timing is very essential as we do not ant any continuity errors - therefore, to minimise time wasting, before going to the location we will plan every last detail of the shoot so we know what we're doing when we get there and we are focused
• Again, as we are shooting outside, we have to pay attention to the weather - we have checked the weather for this weekend, and fortunately the sun will be shining, there'll be no rain, and good visibility
• Taking into account possible transport problems, we will leave early so that we get to location earlier rather than later (especially as we do not wish to miss the sunrise)

COMMUNICATION 

• Our group dynamics are very good, and so if one of us has trouble explaining ourselves, we will take time to listen and try to understand what the person wishes to say
• So far, we have had no disagreements, but we did agree that if ever we had a problem, we'd talk about it and try to sort it out
• We will make each actor and cast member an individual shoot schedule (with the scripts printed at the bottom for the actors) so that they know where to be and when, and how long they'll need to be on shoot
• If one of us has an idea that the others don't particularly agree with (for example, a certain shot they wish to use), then we will shoot both shots, and then reconsider them in post-production
• One of our friends has offered to be our caterer and general helper - she will bring food and extra layers, gloves and hats to ensure that our group and the actors don't go hungry or get cold

TECHNICAL  

• We will check if the batteries are charged, and be reminded how to use all of the equipment when we get our equipment release with Chris.
• We will remove any unwanted background sounds in post production
• We have practiced many of our shots both at location, and at a similar location, to ensure that lighting and framing is perfect in our shots
• We plan to have a variety of different types of shots in our opening, which feature in our shot list and animatic
• To ensure that we avoid continuity errors, we will shoot most of the events from one angle at a time, and then cut them together in post production.

GROUP DYNAMICS

• Our group get on very well, and we share out all of the jobs equally, all having the opportunity to do the exciting jobs as well as the slightly more boring jobs