David Gilbar Time to get all of your footage together! We will be editing for the next six days. We will take breaks to screen some of the amazing Film 12 projects and the special effects tests. We will be starting our next major unit of study on next Tuesday.
Starting today and through most of next week, we will be filming our suspense films. Each group will have 2.5 days of shooting time or five days in total. In other words, we should all aim to be into post-production by Friday the 25th. Make sure to grab all of your equipment quickly go over the shooting checklist. Make sure to review your equipment settings!
Setting up the Camera |
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| Clear the SD Card. Go to Settings > Format to wipe the card clean. | Set the sensor sensitivity. ISO to 100/200 if outside, 400/800 if shooting inside. Avoid shooting at ISO 1600. | Set the White Balance to AWB to get accurate colours | Set the framerate and resolution to 1080, 24FPS is ideal for movie quality while 30FPS is best for Youtube/TV quality |
Setting up the Shot |
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| Adjust exposure by changing the shutterspeed and aperture by scrolling the wheel or holding the A/V button while scrolling until the exposure indicator is in the middle of the line | Adjust the focus by zooming in on the focus area with the + button in the top right, move it over your subject, then rotate the end of the lens until they appear crisp and clear | ||
Setting up the Audio |
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| Recording close to your actors in a quiet environment? Grab a shotgun (camera mounted) microphone. Make sure to check your connections and frequently review clips to make sure you haven’t lost the proper connection. | Otherwise, please grab a boom, sound kit, or portable recorder. Review the procedures and be sure to constantly monitor audio levels. Make sure the microphone turned on and is as close to your actors mouths as possible. | ||
Finish up edits to your script. It’s always a good idea to have a couple of other people read through it aloud to find any issues with clarity or awkward language. When you are done, print five copies and put it on your clipboard.
If you haven’t done so yet, please finish your storyboard and shotlist. Figure out what props, costumes, locations, and actors you will need and make sure that you will have them on hand for Monday.
Pair up with another group who will be working as your actors. Pitch the idea, walk read through the script, and show them the storyboard shot-by-shot so they have a good grasp of what will be happening when you shoot. Switch and look through the other script. Afterwards, practice reading through the lines and say them aloud!
Find or create props! Scout your locations! Gather your production documents!
Have time left over? Fill out a shot list, putting it in the logical shooting sequence. Remember that we are shooting over a two day period for this project, so break your shoot up appropriately. This will be your road map when shooting, so take care of it! You can leave it with Mr. Gilbar if you are afraid you might lose it.
Experiment with lighting and sound equipment. Find and download (or shoot) whatever special effects shots that you need. Grab a camera and shoot B-roll footage (establishing shots, hallways, setting, etc.) Fine tune the script if anything seems clunky. Review your shotlist and see how to best sequence it. Go and check out the locations you are planning to use.
Sit back and relax! We will be watching the Conflict Through Dialogues at the start of class.
Together, we will come up with some general guidelines for ourselves afterwards on how we can improve afterwards as a class. We have to be able to learn from our own experiences as well as those of our peers. Once it is on this list, they are no longer acceptable mistakes to make.
Edit, edit, and edit some more! Your final script should be roughly two or three pages long. Time it out to see if it is too long or too short to see if you need to bulk it up or edit it down. Complete the final draft today and print four or five copies. Finish early? Start working on your storyboard!
Please remember, the suspense project will be valued at fifty marks and should satisfy all of the following components (please note that marks are approximate):
Work together to visualize your story in advance. Work quickly with simple stick figures to show the sequence clearly. Please remember that you could always stray from the guide and shoot additional shots later on, but that these are just the shots that are absolutely necessary to tell the story.