Creating New Film Titles

As I have mentioned in a previous post, we needed to create new and better titles for our film. The ones on our rough cut, due to their nature, took far too long to turn into something readable and took up too much time. They also didn't really introduce the audience to what our film was actually about, and so as a group we have decided to change them.

As opposed to creating something over the top and fancy, we have decided to keep them simple and even create them in Final Cut. Below is a picture of one of the frames of our titles.

This was created in Final Cut. Firstly, I used Google Images in order to find some images which I felt would be suitable for our titles and would be appropriate for representing our film and what it's about. I tried to find images which just had a black outline so that I could use PhotoShop to fill the inside in using the fill bucket, and make them white. I then created a slug in Final Cut, added text to it, chose the font I felt most appropriate and then using the superimpose option, I dragged the images I had found and edited onto the slugs and positioned them where I thought was right using the wireframe.

Although our titles are only black and white, and are very basic and simple, I feel that they are affective for these reasons, as they do not complicate anything. I also think, that with the right music underneath them (ie. chanting/choir singing), they will give the audience an idea about our film's themes before any of our footage has even begun.

Addressing Our Film's Title

Personally, I felt that our film's title was no longer appropriate, as our main character Samantha had kept her baby, so really she had no longer sinned. For this reason, I brought it up with my group members and we decided to re-think the name. After much consideration, we decided that we wanted to go with 'Reborn From Sin'. We think that although it only has one less word, it is slightly more snappy. We also feel that it now makes more sense than the previous title, considering the changes made to our film.

It originated from the idea of  being a 'born again Christian' and we went from 'Born Again', because Samantha had found her faith again after the horrific events which happened to her. However, we could not all agree on this name so after some discussion we came up with 'Reborn From Sin' based on the idea that Samantha has re-found her faith dispite the fact that she has been sinned against, because she has overcome and forgiven the person who sinned against her, and God for handing her this challenge in life.

Friday 16th March; The Final Shoot

As a group, we managed to get Friday 16th March off timetable in order to film for the whole day, luckily our actors were also able to do this to be able to help us with filming. Present at the shoot were Sam, Adele and me, Rob did not come to this shoot. We also had Erica, Tom and Adam accompanying us to act in our scenes.

We met at school early and went to Sam's house first. Here we filmed in his dining room and made  absolutely sure we were happy with all shots before we moved onto shooting the next lot. We filmed from a number of different angles, including a long shot of Samantha and Anthony sat at the table, close ups of both characters talking and shots over each of their shoulders. This gave us alot to work with when editing, which is something we previously did not do. We also made sure we had more than one of each shot so that we had plenty to work with incase there was something wrong with one of the other ones.

This time when filming, we used the halogen lighting system, as planned, and made sure that every shot was lit appropriately, and effectively. We also had the small monitor (also as planned) which allowed us as a group to each have alot more say in what was happening with the framing and lighting of shots because we could all see it, as opposed to one of us looking at a tiny flip screen. We took it in turns to press record just so that we had all had an equal turn at this stage of the film-making.

Next in Sam's house, we filmed in his living room. Here we made sure that we had plenty of shots again, including one which zoomed in from being a long shot to an extreme close up. This allowed us to have an opportunity later on in the film which we may use as a match-on-action. We also made sure that the match-on-action with the living room/dining room door was going to be perfect. On this shoot, we all had our eye on continuity in order to maintain a high standard and not include any silly mistakes in or film.

We then went to the woods by Sam's house where we filmed some shots to be added to the flashback. We recorded another match-on-action to be included using the gate at the beginning of the path we were filming on. We then filmed some more pans and some more shots from different parts of the woods ie. behind different trees and from different distances from where the action was taking place. We also made sure to film a shot of the roasry beads being dropped out of Samantha's hands, as this is a very symbolic part of our film.

At this point Sam had to go as he had family arrangements which he had to attend, so him, Tom and Adam left as they were no longer needed for any filming. We finished the day, and the shoot off by filming Samantha getting up and out of bed in my house. I was sure to film everything twice when capturing these scenes as I wanted to give my group members some choice when editing, I couldn't decide whether natural light or artificial lighting worked better, so I shot using both, giving my group and I the choice to make later. Just like throughout the rest of the day, I ensured we had plenty of shots to work with by filming ECU's, CU's, MS's and LS's as well as including a couple of pans. I also decided to film something which had not previously been discussed with my group but I thought it might be a good idea to include and would help to link from the bedroom scene to the dining room scene, and so I filmed Samantha coming out of the bedroom and walking down the stairs. I hope we can fit this into our final film somehow as I think it would be a nice addition.

Overall, 16th March was a good shoot and alot was achieved in a day. I hope we have a range of usable footage which will make editing alot easier and our final film alot easier to follow and of a higher standard and quality.

Planning For Re-Shoot; Props

As part of our re-shoot, we are also making a list of the props we need to make sure we have ready for the day we film. By having this list, and the props ready, we will save ourselves time and prevent any last minute running around. A prop is defined as anything which is used in filming and is touched or used in some way. Below I have included the list of props and some images of them, I have also included information about when they will be used in our film and in some cases, their purpose.

An alarm clock will be switched off by Samantha in the first part of our film.

Samantha will then pick up a small blue gift bag and envelope and make her way towards her bedroom door. She will hand this to Anthony in the next section of our film.

Anthony will have a bowl of cereal in front of him at the dining room table and he will be playing with the contents of the bowl with his spoon. There will also be two coffee mugs on the table, one for him and one Samantha will have in front of her. We added these props as it gave our actors something to do with their hands, made the scene look more natural, and actually gave them a real purpose for being in this location; all of which previously were missing.

After Samantha has handed Anthony the blue gift bag an birthday card, he will reveal the contents, which will be a silver crucifix on a chain in a jewellry box.

Rosary beads will feature in the flashback of the rape scene, during this scene the beads will be dropped to the floor in order to show the that Samantha has lost her faith in Catholocism due to the violent and unmoral act committed against her seventeen year old self.

A shoe box will feature in the final part of our film, and Samantha will be looking through its contents and reminiscing about her baby boy which has been triggered by her flashback. The box will include: a dummy, booties, baby's cardigan, congratulations card (any other baby memorabilia we would like to include), brown envelope with an address window, diary, prayer books and...

Finally a silver crucifix. This will be hesitantly put back on by Samantha in order to show that she has forgiven what happened to her when she was a teenager because she can see that something good came out of something bad.

This will complete our property list and will hopefully mean that we will be able to successfully and easily complete our filming with no waiting around deciding what we need and when.

Planning For Re-Shoot; Equipment

One of our first and biggest downfalls when filming previously was not being organised, therefore, we are going to thoroughly plan out everything we need to take with us, and what we are going to do when we are on location. This is so that we do not run out of time by either discussing what we are going to film and worrying about something we may or may not have forgotten to take with us. Below I have listed and included some images of the equipment we will be taking with us when re-filming.

Obviously, the first piece of equipment we will be taking with us is the Sony HD video camera.We will also be taking the charger with us so that we never have a problem with the battery running out of charge. When filming in a house/building, we will leave the camera on charge so that when we are filming outside we will never have the issue of the battery being flat.

The next thing we will be remembering to take is tapes for the camera. Lots of them too! By ensuring we have plenty of tapes this means that we can always be sure we have a spare in case the one we are using gets full (which is unlikely) or so that we can each have a tape so that no footage is accidentally recorded over meaning no blame can be placed and there will be no falling out.

Next on our list is a tripod. We will obviously be taking this to keep the camera steady and to successfully accomplish panning when necessary.

Of course, our tripod will be no use without a tripod adapter so we will also be taking one of these to ensure the camera is sat comfortably on the tripod.

Unlike on our last shooting sessions, we are going to remember to take the three-point lighting systme with us. This will ensure that all of our scenes are properly lit which is also what will take our film from looking like an amateur has filmed it to looking like our footage has been captured by a professional. We will also use natural lighting where necessary ie. in the woods. We will also use natural lighting as well as the lights we take with us. We will probably only take two out of the three lights as we just want them to highlight facial expressions made by the actors.

The final item we will take in terms of equipment will be a monitor which we will plug into the video camera. We are going to take this so that we can see the footage we are capturing on a larger screen, meaning that we get a more realistic view of it. This is opposed to us seeing our real captured footage for the first time when we get to the editing stage and it will be too late to rectify the issues. The bigger screen also means that every group member can take a more active role in helping to decide things about framing and lighting.

Hopefully, the list which I have made above will already go a long way towards us capturing better quality footage when we next go out to film.

Planning For Re-Shoot; Costume

After lengthy discussions, we have come to some final conclusions about or film settings and therefore, costumes. We have decided that Anthony is sixteen years old in present day 2012, meaning that he was born in 1996. This would mean that Samantha was raped in late 1995/early 1996. We have also decided that Samantha was eighteen when she was raped by her step father, Ray. This would work out that she were born in late 1978/early 1979, meaning that in present day 2012, Samantha is about 34 years old.

We have also decided that, unlike in our rough cut, we would like our film to start with Samantha getting up and out of bed, ready to face the day that lies ahead of her, this means that there have had to be some changes to costumes. Below I have made a list of the costumes worn by the characters in our film and have also included some images as a guide.

In order to make Samantha look older we are going to put a pair of glasses on her. As we are using the same actress, this will hopefully help to differentiate between the two ages in the present day scene and the flashback scene set in 1996. Samantha will also be wearing a dressing gown and pyjama's underneath as she has just gotten out of bed in the morning.

Anthony will be wearing a '16' badge as part of his costume, this will help to establish his age and will also allow the audience to recognise that this is a special occasion. He will also be wearing his original costume of a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Ray will also be wearing his original costume of a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a denim jacket. We kept this the same as when we researched the 1990's to gather information on our new flashback time period, we found that the '90's screamed denim!

Again, when researching the '90's we checked Samantha's costume against what may have been found in the 1990's. We found that her original costume of a pair of jeans and a girly top could stay the same, which workes well for us as we do not have to re-film any of the flashback scene, only film extra parts for it. We decided that the original hair style which we used worked for the '90's aswell as it looked not too dissimilar to that of Jennifer Aniston in 'Friends' which was referred to throughout the '90's by her characters name and was known as 'The Rachel'.

The list of costumes needed will help us when filming as the person in charge of checking costume will not find it so difficult if they know what costume should be worn by who and when. Also, by keeping costume to a minimum and using fairly easily accessible items of clothing, we have tried to make it as easy as possible for the actors/actresses involved in helping us to make our film.