FILMING My three Ps: passion, patience, perseverance. You have to do this if you’ve got to be a filmmaker.- Robert Wise

FILMING SET-UPToday (5th December) we dedicated the day to filming the indoor shots of our film. Due to previous experience of setting up the camera equipment and set, our group decided to arrive on set four hours before filming commenced, allowing us enough time for preparation. We neatly placed the equipment that wasn’t going to be used in the scene in the guest room, so it didn’t get in the way of the cast and crew. We arranged the lighting and I set the camera for the first scene, as well as working on the production design, including key props, for each room that was going to be used. I set the camera to the lowest possible ISO (200), to minimise the amount of noise and achieve maximised image quality. Additionally, I ensured to shoot on RAW throughout. Although this would take up a lot of memory space, our group felt that this was important to allow Rose (editor) the utmost creative choice for colour grading the film.

Production design The master bedroom had to be redesigned slightly as it had a feminine look. We replaced the make-up and women’s cosmetics that were on the dressing

table and replaced it with men’s cologne and products. We also removed the heart decorations that were wrapped around the cupboard

knobs. This was to give the sense that this was Michael’s bedroom and to show that he

was living alone, without a woman in his life. We also added a few lamps in the background for decoration and to illuminate

the scene.

The scene where Michael finds a box of his childhood items

I really wanted to emphasise Michael’s emotional expressions when he reconnects with his inner child. Therefore, I added another spontaneous shot, by which I sat down in the tiny cupboard and held the camera, titled upwards towards Michael, capturing his expression when he first sees the box of childhood items. I started filming whilst the cupboard door was shut, then Michael opened the cupboard door and bent down towards the camera to reach for the box.

My favourite scene My favourite scene to film was the one where Michael looks through

the box of his childhood items and his reflection in the mirror is of himself as a child, imitating his actions.

The actors worked extremely well to pull off emotional and convincing performances.

This is the scene that I had written and contributed to the script, thus I was thrilled that it worked out how I imagined it.

Problems: The Dedolights suddenly stopped working, so we made use of

natural daylight and other practical light sources such as lamps and small LED lights to illuminate the indoor scenes

There were issues with keeping to time The outdoor area we were planning on filming at has flooded The child actor got impatient at times I required more breaks from holding the fig rig than I initially

thought This experience has taught me that problems and difficulties are

likely to arise on filming days but to just remain patient and think of practical solutions.

Still shots from the footage 1

Still shots from the footage 2

Still shots from the footage 3