D/601/8826 LO3.3, 3.4; The Film

With & Without You

The Film

With all the footage logged, a rough edit was done and found to be 18 minutes in length. When filming, it became apparent that there would have to be some major cuts made to the film - we failed to realise the extent of the cutting required.

The main issue with cutting some shots was that it created a lot of continuity between those left that were crucial to the story. Thankfully, with some alternate angles and/or transitions these "joints" could be masked, and the final result is that which you see above.

D/601/8826 LO1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 3.2, 3.4; Production & Roles

Roles

Whilst most roles were shared to allow one another to gain experience in different fields, each of us did claim a few roles as our own.

I took on the role of camera operator, being an area I am keen to develop my skills in and being an area I have most experience in. Given the time constraints, it also made sense that I adopted this role to save time.

I also took charge of editing the film being the most experienced of our group with using Final Cut Pro. As editor, I worked majoritarily under Carly, the visional-director. I edited the film into a basic shape, and Carly highlighted areas she thought required alternative shots, cutting, amending and so forth.

Locations

Rainham Station

Selected for its semi-rural feel, Rainham station is on the C2C Fenchurch Street to Grays line and sees only two trains an hour each direction, which allows for plenty of time to film in between. It is away from a main road so there would not be too much noise disturbance. The station supervisor was happy to allow us to film around the station providing we didn't enter station premises (as that required special permission for insurance purposes amongst other reasons); a condition we were more than happy to accept as we didn't have any shots that required filming on the station to begin with.

My Own Home

We had a scene to film of Olivia and Matt watching a film that would be included in the montage. My home was between two filming locations. As we were stopping for a costume change anyway, it made even more sense to take this opportunity to film here.

Bretton's Manor Park

The shots that were to close our opening montage would see Matt and Olivia in a (romantically stereotypical) sequence in a country park, in embraces and 'larking' about.

Slice Of Kiwi Coffee House

A shot that would also form part of the opening montage, permission was given to film a short scene in this Coffee Shop down the road from college ahead of its closing time.

Havering College

TV Studio

The opening of our film required a studio for Matt to photograph Olivia and her dance partner. The TV studio in college was the most ideal studio to use. Photography studios were too confined in space, and the dance studio had mirrors that would make positioning the camera tricky. The TV studio, however, wasn't overly spacious, and had a lighting rig that could be focused on the dance subjects. The blue screen also gave an ideal photographer's backdrop.

Carly's House / Street

The argument that ends our film was to occur at Olivia's house. Whilst my home was ideal for the short scene previously filmed, a more spacious location was required for the argument. We also filmed parts of the second montage, in which Olivia texts Matt, in Carly's room, which is much more suited to Olivia's character than any room in my home.

The Ardleigh & Dragon English Pub & Tai Restaurant

Matt's scenes in the second montage saw him in the company of his university friends on a celebratory night out. This pub just down the road from the college were very accommodating and allowed us to span 2 tables to film the required shots.

And It's A Wrap!

Cast

Billy Fyfe - Matt

Having each worked with Billy before, we knew that Billy is a competent actor who can portray a range of characters. Despite trouble previously getting in touch with him, we did get through in the end he agreed instantly to join the cast.

Kira Andrews - Olivia

Kira came highly recommended by Carly, having attended drama school together previously. Kira was available at short notice and, like Billy, extremely able when it came to portraying the character of Olivia.

Alice-Anne Bull - Emma

Alice has acted before in my previous short films. Emma was only a minor part and was originally set to be played by another recommendation of Carly's. Unfortunately, this actor had to cancel at short notice, and Alice stepped in to play the part so we could stay on schedule.

Carly Wilson - Alex

Carly has been to theatre school in the past, the result of which has seen her partake in stage shows and film work prior to joining our course. She was cast as Alex primarily for her acting ability, but also because it meant we could stick to schedule.

Daniel Lindsay - Olivia's Dance Partner

This was the smallest part in the film, but we knew we had to choose someone with clear dance talent. Kira suggested him and when asked, he accepted the role.

Costumes

Costumes were left to the decisions of the actors, although some pointers were given.

D/601/8826 LO 1.3, 3.5, 3.1, 3.4: Pre-production

Where It All Changed... Again...

The setbacks mentioned in the previous post occurred at the end of the term. Whilst Alice and I had intended to work on the film over Christmas, with the intention to commence shooting upon return in the new year, I encountered serious health issues over the Christmas period which prevented me from continuing any work until returning on 9 January 2014. At the same time, fellow classmate, Carly Wilson, was experiencing troubles in her own team and ultimately left; we were all too happy to welcome her into our group.

Carly brought with her a fresh set of ideas and suggestions, which both Alice and I agreed had much better potential than our own previous ideas. Whilst we each had input, the idea on the whole was Carly's, and so she was entrusted with writing the script.

The New Idea

The film, which is titled 'With & Without You', is a realistic romance film centred around a pair of young lovers whose relationship begins at college during a photography project; Matt (lead male) being the photographer and Olivia (lead female) being the subject of his assignment.

Opening with Olivia in dance, we cut back and forth to Matt, who is can be clearly seen to be infatuated with her. After finishing his photography, the two begin chatting, which leads into a montage of their relationship across the weeks/months than ensue, finishing up at a rail station where Matt says goodbye to Olivia as he departs for University - the two are attempting a long distance relationship.

We cut to near the end of the term, and Olivia is visibly troubled by the distance, finding it hard to cope without her love present, but also feels like there's something he isn't telling her. She consults a friend, who is confident that there is nothing to worry about.

We then cut to Matt at University. Finishing off an assignment with one of his classmates, Alex, he strikes up a conversation about how much he is looking forward to seeing Olivia again, having not met up since he left for pastures new. He is swiftly reminded, however, an assignment yet to be completed which will detain him for a further week and cause him to miss his girlfriend's show that he was hoping to attend. Alex comforts him, assuring him that he will be back with his love within a week.

Another montage begins - Olivia and Matt and texting one another. She is annoyed that Matt was unable to attend her performance. But what is troubling her ever more is his friend Alex, who she finds out is female and not a male as she had previously believed. Despite his girlfriend's worries, Matt is enjoying his last night in the presence of his university buddies at a pub, drinking. He fails to realise the state Olivia is in as he assures her that it is only 'farewell drinks' and he will be back home the following week. Olivia has had enough, and seven nights pass by, each as troubling as the last.

Finally, Matt returns. He and Olivia reunite at the same spot on which they were separated some months before. But whilst Matt is delighted to be back with the love of his life, Olivia's emotions are quite different.

Back at Olivia's house, the two are arguing. Olivia is trying to explain how hurt she feels, and that when she needed him most, Matt wasn't there for her. Matt defends by stressing how hard university life is, with assignments, work and more restricting his free time. But ultimately, Olivia says she feels they should break up. Matt is wounded, and storms out leaving his bag behind.

Olivia rummages through the bag in hope of finding something that will convince her she made the right decision and finds a USB with her name on that Matt was going to give to her. On this is a montage of photos that Matt has arranged of the couple's time together, the last of which is him holding up a large sign with 'I LOVE YOU' written on it. Olivia is moved by this, and darts into the night to try and catch up with Matt.

Matt has made it quite some distance, but Olivia catches up. She stops, leaving a good few feet between them, as they look at one another, waiting for someone to make the first move...

And then we end.

Production Schedule

Day	Scene	Actors & Crew	Time
Thursday Monday Tuesday	Photography Classroom Montage, Park, Train Station, Home. Dance Studio, College, Pub.	Billy Fyfe, Alice-Anne Bull, Owen Hayward & Carly Wilson Billy Fyfe, Kira Andrews, Alice-Anne Bull, Owen Hayward & Carly Wilson Billy Fyfe, Kira Andrews, Daniel Lindsay, Danielle Fearne, Alice-Anne Bull, Owen Hayward  & Carly Wilson	3:30 – 6pm    11am Onwards          TBC

Created by Carly Wilson; Agreed by Owen Hayward and Alice-Anne Bull

J/601/6648 – 2.1; Equipment

Photographic Equipment:

I decided I would set myself a challenge by using a bridge camera, as opposed to a DSLR or silver-based model, to see what results I could achieve with this. Despite being the type of camera I own and have used most for photographs, I have never fully experimented with it and decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. The model I used is a Panasonic DMC-FZ18, which has an 18x optical zoom and a 28-504mm equivalent focal length range.

I have three batteries for this, which were fully charged before I set out to allow me plenty of photographic time. I also ensured that the 16gb memory card I had for it was clear and inserted thus allowing me plenty of memory space for taking photographs.

As a secondary device, I took along my iPod apple device (4th gen model) to experiment with photography on a smaller device of lower specifications. As with the batteries for the camera, I ensured this was fully charged before setting out; photographs taken on this are extremely small in file size, but I was careful to confirm I had at least 100mb of memory space left on the device.

J/601/6648 - 2.2 + 3.1 + 3.2 + 4.1 & 4.2; Photographs

Test Images

The image above was taken using my iPod 4, and is the only photogrpah that I thought was to an acceptable standard. What I like about this shot is the the realisation of scale - the clock tower of St Pancras towers over the building work of the London Underground station entrance, upon the scaffolding of which stands a lowly worker creating a point of interest - what could a single person be doing up on scaffolding at a building site?

I'm less fond of this one after posting it compared to when I took it, however I still like how the statue has been placed inside St Pancras international in relation to the clock. The statue, of  former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, is  actually looking up at the magnificent glass roof, but I liked how, when viewed from this angle, the clock seemingly enters his line of vision.

The photo above demonstrates a sub-genre of my theme - namely human instinct to disobey rules. Pedestrian crossings almost serve no purpose in the capital; the vast number of pedestrians on the footpaths would mean that queues at crossings could be unbearably large if people were to wait for the green man. Unfortunately, the day I was at Kings Cross pedestrian numbers were surprisingly low - I was hoping to capture more people on the crossing (which can be seen at red) but had to make do with the handful that were around at the time. As a point of contrast, notice the one person on the other side who is patiently waiting for the green man...

The lack of lighting in this shot on the passengers I think adds to the atmosphere of this shot. Perhaps one thing Britain is commonly associated with is queuing. This shot puts a little spin on that idea, by not focusing on a linear 'queue' like one in a shop, but instead what I refer to a 'mass' queue, where people are waiting for something, like the announcement of a train time and platform in this still. Rather than all pressing into one group, people have spaced themselves out, respecting other people's personal space, whilst still trying to stand in a space that would allow them a 'quick get-away' once they have the information they need.

Final 5

The images below are those I have chosen as my final 5.

This image is similar to the last of my examples above; however I have chosen this as a final image as I admire the roof structure and the space between it and the waiting passengers below.

The curiosity that arises from the single person in this shot is why I chose this as a final image. You cannot clearly see if the person is standing or walking, so you can't be sure if they are going to or from a train, or if they are waiting, observing or just 'sightseeing.'

My only criticism here would be that I needed to be more central - unfortunately a pillar would have obstructed the view.
The arched roof gives a clear impression of the depth of the staion as it shrinks into the distance.

Another image that portrays the human instinct to disobey; despite a clear 'No Entry' sign above the door, people persistantly enter through it into the station. The two potential passengers in the foreground are a contrast as they continue on their way past toward the genuine entrance.

Several images of London captured in one place together: Busses, Black Cabs, Kings Cross and Traffic. The bus spanning two lanes in the background nicely examples part of the chaos of London, whilst the signpost in the foreground creates a division in the photo of those vehicles closest to the camera and those in the distance.

I'd like it to be known that I have not edited these images using any photo editing software or camera filters. I do not believe that such means result in a 'photograph,' as they can warp appearances. I prefer to share the raw photo as that honestly represents what I have intended to capture.

T/601/8573 - 2.2 + 3.1 + 3.2; My Feature

T/601/8573 - 4.1+4.2; The Radio Show

Alice-Anne Bull was designated producer for the radio show, and as a group, we decided that we would do a full feature show spanning two hours that would include all of our postcode documentaries, with Christmas music played between.

Once Alice had selected the music, I produced a rough running-order based around everyone's expectations of their project's duration, the tracks selected and the presenter's desired talk time.

Original Running Order

Obviously, nothing ever goes to plan. By the week of the show, the documentaries had all changed in length and some of the tracklist had changed to better suit our target audience (which was never fully discussed but vaguely steered in the direction of 16-21 year old college students.)

Amended Running Order

The original role designations were:

Alice-Anne Bull; Producer

Owen Hayward; Engineer

Carly Wilson & Samuel James; Presenters

Jamie Mumford; Publicity, Engineer's Assistant.

Much like the original running order, this too was subject to change, albeit on the day of the show itself when Samuel James was taken ill and unable to attend. The final roles were:

Alice-Anne Bull; Producer

Jamie Mumford; Engineer

Carly Wilson & Owen Hayward; Presenters

Script - (Due to time constraints, Sam's name on the script was not changed to mine. It should also be noted that we had asked a HND student, Luke, to fill in. He had initially accepted, but due to the planned duration of the show and pressures from his own projects, had to later decline.)

Carly produced the script, which was subject to several 'ad-hoc' and last second alterations and additions.

Mercifully, there were no further setbacks during the broadcast. Samuel produced a separate 30-minute show two weeks later, to which I engineered.

T/601/8573 - 2.2 +3.1 + 3.2; Soundscape

Kings Cross Soundscape (Download Link)
Soundcloud

J/601/6648 – 2.2 + 3.1 + 3.2 + 4.1 (Part 2)

Below is an example of a silver-based image taken by myself on a twin lens reflex camera (TLR) on a 120 medium format film.
Had there been more film left when I received the camera for use, I would have had several more images to share; this setback demonstrates one problem working with silver-based devices. Whilst preparing to take the image, I personally found it a challenge to correctly set the focus and Depth Of Field as the viewfinder was very small and dark, thus making the image unclear.

I developed these myself by removing the film in a dark room, then treating film with solutions that would then allow me to view the negatives in the light; I am relieved that this step went smoothly as, if the solution quantities and concentrations were not correct, the film would have reacted with the light and 'fogged' up.

One other issue of working with printed photography is that when scanning them in, it is highly possible that some form of dirt/contaminant will sit on the cel that will be captured with the scan (as can be witnessed with my example;) the type of scanner will also affect how large the photo can be replicated before distortion occurs.

Should it not be visible, click here for the IMAGE

J/601/6648 – 1.1-1.2 & T/601/8573 - 1.1; Pitch

The area I have selected for my London-Based Animatic is King's Cross (NW1.) Built around no less than 3 main line stations, the area is a constant hub of activity with travellers moving in and out of the capital, as well as the daily commuters, tourists and street-sellers.

Considering the points above, I have decided to theme my animatic around humans. This is rather a broad subject as it will not limit me to just people, but also to what human actions can result - Kings Cross has some magnificent architecture which is all a result of human planning and physical labour.

My radio feature will detail the history of the area's development both past and present, as well as referring to the station's major part in the Harry Potter Films. It should also cover perhaps the most memorable event in the area, namely the Kings Cross Fire of November 1987. It is my intention to record this on location to add to the atmosphere of the piece.

The piece will be recorded on a Zoom H1 Device, a portable recorder, which I know from previous experience to be reliable and capture clear sound. However, should any of the recording encounter issues, discovered during the edit (on Adobe Audition), then I shall use studio equipment to cover the missing vocals to save time.

To produce the final animatic, I intend to put together an After-Effects 'slide-show' to create a visually appealing piece of work.