6th April, Logging/ filming and planning!

Since last class, we have actually done a load of filming. We had originally planned to be completely finished with filming by the end of the weekend that has just passed, however we encountered some large problems. There were many locations that we had planned to use that do not allow you to film - company policy. This proved to be a huge problem for us as there is no way that we can change the plot of our film or anything now. To solve this, I thought that it would be a good idea to just do it anyway, so we ended up filming ninja-style out of my bag. Hopefully the shots will not be too bad and at least we have the locations and most of the shots that we need. We couldn't film the final scene at Julien's house either (the one where he dies on the roof) as it was too dark! This was very frustrating, as if only we had gone half an hour earlier, we would have been able to get the shots done. Instead we filmed the rest of the scenes that take place at his house. Now all that needs to be filmed is:

• Redo of Julien getting into taxi
• Park'n'shop
• Wing on
• Roof

These will hopefully get done on tuesday - if we stick to the time plan! - as we have the whole day after school. I'm actually really worried about having enough time to edit both the visuals and the sound. I have already taught Jing-Ting some simple steps to make things easier while editing, but I fear that we simply do not have enough time to get the whole thing to the standard that I envision this project being. As sound editor, I am very worried about  the visuals, as I cannot edit sound without having the exact sequence that the visuals will be in. It is really annoying too that both Jing-Ting and I are going on the history trip to Eastern Europe, so we will both be missing two possible days to edit. Along with this, we are both in the 25th anniversary gala dinner dance troupe, which has rehearsals on mondays for two hours, which we cannot miss, so we are missing about 4 hours to edit. I think what I will do is set a date that we shall have the cutting ready by, and then after that (basically so all transitions are visually good and match-on-actions shots work etc.) Jing-Ting will be able to alter color contrast/ other without changing where the audio will go. This was I can put the audio clip onto Soundtrack Pro and work with it from there - hopefully on another computer. Jeff suggested a handy tutorial to help me, which mainly focuses on getting rid of other sounds. I have had a look at it, but I don't think I can really take any of it in until I actually have the audio tracks to work with.

During class today we mainly logged and captured the footage that we have so far. The timecode recording has proved to come in very useful, however sometimes from the notes it is unclear as to which take was successful (it was not always the last one!) which meant that we ended up logging a lot of useless footage. I think that our film might end up being quite long, which I am a bit worried about as that will reduce that 'snappiness' of it as well as provide more material to edit.

During class today I think I was a thinker. While logging the different shots, we noticed that there were several problems with angles (to do with the portals) so instead of panicking, we thought it would be a good idea to just film them again. Although this sounds quite harsh, as filming takes ages and can be very tedious, it is a more desirable option over constantly worrying that something is wrong with it etc.

I think that along with a backing track, which may be quite simple, I will also include a tune or a haunting melody that represents the 'dream' (represented by the white figure) he is following, which will be the 'hook' that makes him follow it every time. I really hope we can pull this off!

By the way, I have realized that in terms of the IB learner profiles, I am always a 'thinker', a 'communicator' or an 'inquirer'. I think in future I have to try and expand my horizons by being more adventurous, and making the cut for a 'risk-taker', as in film I think that is where original, intriguing work comes from. 

Thinkers: Exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.