Initial Reflections:
What have you learnt from the task?
Something I find really important during the production process is time management, and only after starting the shooting and editing process did I understand how important this skill is.
Before our first shooting, we would plan what equipment we would be using and how long we plan to spend on each shot.
During the planning stage, we always felt that we will be very efficient and get a lot of the shooting done in one day according to our plan. However, the first and second time we would always spend more time than we expected on shooting.
The main reason to this is because:
1.Planned shots fail to meet our expected effect
2.Technical issues with the equipment; Suddenly running out of battery even though we had made sure to charge it fully before, the stabilizer didn't cope at times...
3.Our group are perfectionists(sort of) and we reshot many shots over and over because we felt that it could be better and reach a certain standard.
This leads to the second lesson I learnt: Sometimes, if reshooting a shot many times still doesn't result in the ideal shot you imagined at first, change perspective and figure out another way that could communicate the same meaning and deliver the intended impact. This is helpful because you get to do this shot with a fresh mind and can be creative and not limited by your previous planning. Through this method, we actually developed very interesting shots which took up shorter time within the opening(As we were seriously exceeding the time limit).
What equipment have you used?
I have used the Nikon DX VR camera for the shooting which is another skill I developed. Before studying Media Studies for my A-levels, I didn't know how to use professional cameras. So I learnt from my teacher and other students how to use the basics of a camera(Taking pictures, doing a recording, zoom in and out, how to adjust the ISO as well as the focus of a camera). Because I am playing the role of "Daisy" in our opening, I only shoot the shots which don't include my character. But I do direct the camera movements and frequently come up with new ideas for transitions. I would search on YouTube and pay close attention to the camera movement in films I watch. To exemplify this, the transition from Daisy taking off her coat and following Chris into his room was inspired by a scene from Blade Runner. At first, we wanted to pan from one side of the actors to the other and the camera follows them into the room, a tracking shot. But then this took up too much time and also the pan wasn't smooth enough because without a track it was very hard to create a smooth pan with a professional camera. I learnt to plan camera movements with the camera because practicing with a phone is extremely different to holding a professional camera and exercise the movements(the weights are different). Then after some consideration and experimenting I decided to try the transition movement from the Blade Runner. This turned out successful and it was also 11 seconds shorter than our initial footage.
For the lighting of the shooting. I had to use three glow sticks and place them in a way so that the room would be well lit. For all the shots in Chris’ bedroom, I made sure the curtains were shut and no natural light came in so that we wouldn’t have to worry about the weather or timing of the day and could film during the entire day.
There were times when I decided not to use any lighting equipment, just a rather dim lamp so that there would be grains and the quality of the footage wouldn’t be clear, this is done intentionally to create a sense of flash-back montage and to highlight Daisy’s unstable mood and temper. In Chris’ bedroom, the shot where Chris and Daisy walk in to the room the footage is also rather dark and contains a lot of grains this is done to set the eerie, suspicious mood and tone for the coming-up physical interaction with Chris’ father(Daisy touching Chris’ father’s arm).
I also decided to use a 50% yellow light with a purple glow stick to light the scene where Promiscuous Daisy applies makeup and observes herself in the mirror. This is to make the two shots(Innocent Daisy in the mirror VS. Promiscuous Daisy in the mirror) very distinct and really use lighting and filter to highlight the different attitudes and intentions of the two personalities of Daisy. Purple is also symbolic as it represents “deceit” and Daisy is using the innocent victim facade to deceit the rest of the people around her.
I also learnt how to operate a tripod, how to install it and how to unload it back into the bag. I was responsible for setting the tripod up and this was very useful for the scene in the bathroom and the shot in which Daisy touches Chris’ father’s arm. It was really important to know to what degree I should turn the “lock” in, because if it is too tight it was hard to create a fairly smooth pan whereas if it is too loose, the camera easily pointed in all directions. So this took some time to adjust and get the suitable degree of tightness.
What skills did you utilize (and develop)?
I utilized and developed my acting skills. I was used to acting on stage without a camera right in my face that when it came to having to act in front of a camera, I felt uncomfortable and wasn’t used to seeing the lens so close to me. This took some time for me to adapt.
I also noticed how very slight details in facial expressions are either obvious or aren’t that evident on camera so I had to accentuate a bit more the emotion I tried to convey because if I over-do it, then it looks too dramatic and not natural which isn’t my intention.
I truly developed my camera skills as I have mentioned before---going from knowing how to turn on the camera to knowing the basic operations of a professional camera and I continuously ask questions to my friends about how to adjust the color tone and other useful techniques.
My initial aim during this production was to explore the use of lighting and color tones and I believe I have achieved this. I experimented with different lighting equipment and filters to create a variety of effects and deliver the intended atmospheres. Perhaps, in the future I could explore even more and be more bold with filters and continue to explore my style. Personally, I really like how Madonna, Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, Quinten Tarantino and 王家卫（Wang Jia Wei）
use the power, art of colors and lighting to convey symbolism and ideas in film. These artists have inspired me to be more bold with the usage of color and lighting during the production process. However, I do feel like more exploration and experimentation could create a more sophisticated effect and understanding of colors & lighting.
My partner Arina sitting by the wall of posters (singers who are known to support the LGBTQ+ group, because Chris is implied to be gay)
I also developed and utilized my understandings of Mise en scène. During this production process, I spent a lot of time and effort on mise en scène as I believe it really helps the audience understand the character and their personality, behaviors and habits. I believe that through careful construct of the mise en scène, you can transmit more information than just saying it and it is also more time efficient and interesting. I believe the audience wants to participate more in the process of getting to know the character by interpretation, this links to Barthes’ theory of the enigma code. The placement of an object or a detail in an actor’s body language, proxemic, gesture, poise… are all there for the audience to interpret. The audience brings their interpretation to these different aspects and it also encourages them to question why? Why did the actor do this, why is this object here? This helps draw the audience’s attention and interest as well as curiosity to the piece. All objects placed within the shots are all intentional and carries a meaning both individually and altogether with the rest.
I also drew a mustache and put bronzer on Arthur(playing the role of Chris' father) to deliver a more mature-looking man.
I designed the makeup and decided the costume for my character Daisy. I applied light makeup for the innocent-looking Daisy and put on a heavier makeup for the promiscuous Daisy and the scarlet red robe being a connotation of blood and seduction. Also implying that Daisy is wearing little clothes under the robe which reinforces the evil-intended part of Daisy.
What did you learn about continuity editing?
What difficulties did you encounter?
1.My glasses broke when we were almost done with the filming, so we decided to shoot from a particular angle so that it wouldn’t be too obvious.
2. For the scene where Daisy and Chris walk into his room: we wanted to pan from one side to the other from the actor’s back and then dolly back to create a circular and supposedly smooth shot. However without a track it was hard and we took a different approach --- using an object to create a smooth transition.
3. The shots from the locker scene with the girls gossiping to when Daisy leaves school didn’t connect hence made little sense, we decided to remove the entire part of Daisy leaving school and replaced it with another scene by the lockers, this also saved us time.
Actors weren’t able to deliver the conversations in a comfortable and naturalistic way at first, but after practicing several times, we managed to be efficient and they performed well.
There was an unexpected large crowd after school by the school gate when we intended to only have a few parents or guardians waiting to pickup the children. We changed the angle and utilized this chaotic crowd to our benefit.
Some shots seemed dull and too long and lacked sophistication, we used cut on actions to help overcome this.
Arina and I wanted to reshoot a shot with Chris' father, however the actor wasn’t with us, therefore I gave Arina the sweater and made her stand on two stools to be taller, I also directed her body language to create a more robust and casual feeling. We had the camera on a tripod to shoot this scene, I monitored the focus, lighting and confirmed that the action was in the frame.
For the montage scenes where Daisy is very flirtatious, it was a little difficult for me to completely let go and so I put on some R&B music which aided me to get in the mood as well as creating the atmosphere.
Next Steps:
What needs to be done now?
We have to ask our friend playing the character of Chris to do a voice over for the scene when Daisy goes to her locker and receives a voice message from Chris. We also have to work on some other parts of the editing so it becomes more neat and is within the time limit as we are currently 30 seconds past the requirements.
Do you need to reshoot any scenes?
We had to reshoot many scenes but one which was recently shot was when Daisy was washing her hands in front of the mirror. This is because when we all shared our film openings to the class, our teacher noticed many stains on the mirror which became rather distracting, and after mentioning this point, it did really seem disturbing. Therefore I ensured the mirror was perfectly clean when Arina came to do the filming again.
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