Final Draft Complete

I have completed the final draft of my film and acted on the audience feedback to create a better product. I replaced the missing shots replacement shots. For the spoken one have mixed shots of the bed with no one sat on it with shots of the male character sat on the bed to create a sort of stop start animation as the line is being said. For the second shot I have replaced it with a shot of the female charater rubbing her stomach which is used later in the film. I have also coloured the entire conversation in a blue newsprint filter to emphasise the fact that it is a dream sequence. This post will be updated later today when I upload my film to YouTube at home.


Here it is:

Audience Feedback

Once I had completed editing I created a questionaire to get feedback from my target audience. I then proceeded to show it to the rest of my class and collected their response. The results are detailed below.

First Draft Complete

I managed to film the entire thing over the course of three hours on Thursday 8 March. I then porceeded to edit the film together and completed the first draft within the space of a week. There were some problems with the editing as I had somehow forgotten to shoot a couple of lines. I solved this by removing a couple of lines which surrounded the first missing shot so that the film still made sense. For the other two I filmed extreme close ups which seemed to work as part of the film. Apart from these glitches everything else went really well and it worked as a short film.

Soundtrack

Over the weekend I had a think about what music I wanted to use and this is what I have decided on.

For the opening sequence I have decided to use the first verse of A Delicate Balance by Paul Thompson who is a friend of mine and allowed me to use it. I think that it suits the sequence because it describes a girl which in turn introduces the character to the audience and gives them some background.

For the rest of the film I have decided to use My Touch by Toro Y Moi from a demo he sent to labels which very few people have and therefore is not copyrighted material. I think that it suits the film as it fits the mood of the conversation and contains the following lyrics:

I'll stop talking to myself.

Doesn't matter if that helps.

It's a difference when I'm there in front of you.

Bellies must dance just in case,

I would fall into my place.

It's a difference when I'm there in front of you.

So you push me with your hands to wake me up.

So you push me with your hands to wake me up.

So you push me with your hands to wait for you.

Doo, doo, doo, doo.

I'll stop talking to myself.

Doesn't matter if that helps.

It's a difference when I'm there in front of you.

Bellies must dance just in case,

I would fall into my place.

So you push me with your hands to wait for you

I think these lyrics portray perfectly what the film is about showing that the film is in fact a dream sequence as the song represents in it's lyrics.

Finally Filming Today!!!

Today I am finally going to shoot my film after being ready for over a week but unable to cast actors. The shoot should be complete after this evenings filming session. I will begin editing on Friday morning and hopefully have a rough version without a soundtrack done by the end of the day. I will then be able to take that version home so I can begin work on the soundtrack over the weekend.

Actor Update

Unfortunately Patrick has had to drop out and it will be hard to find someone at such short notice to play Scott so I may have to end up playing him myself. It's a good job I'm not marked on acting ability because I am not that good of an actor.

Actors, Location and Schedule Update 2

I have now cast Patrick McCallion as Scott.

I am using Sam Kay's house for filming which will take place tomorrow as that is when his house will be free.

Filming will take place tomorrow afternoon after school and should last between an hour and an hour and a half depending how long it takes to get shots right.

Final Script

This is the final version of the script with adjustments made for the location which is being used.

Actors, Location and Schedule Update

I have finally found people who is can be in my film. I have cast Steph Smith as Jamie and will hopefully be casting Patrick McCallion as Scott tomorrow when I speak to him but I am certain he will be able to do it.

I am asking Sam Kay if I can use his house for filming when I see him tomorrow. It is an ideal location as it is near school and therefore easily accessible by the cast members and myself.

Filming will take place either on Thursdays lesson if Patrick is free or after school one day. It all depends on when he is free really as Steph and I are both Film Studies students so our lessons fall at the same time as we are in the same class making scheduling with her easier.

Soundtrack Possibilities

I could produce the soundtrack in a similar way to how WZRD (an alternative rock duo) produced the tracks on their recently released self-titled debut album. KiD CuDi is on lead vocals, guitars and drums with Dot Da Genius on drums, bass guitar, keyboards, piano and percussion mainly in production software. I know a few people who play guitar and I can produce so this would be possible and it would stick more closely to genre conventions. I don't think I need vocals on the soundtrack as it is quite a short film and I feel vocals would disrupt it.

I could also produce the soundtrack in a similar way to how Toro Y Moi  produced the tracks on his debut album Causers of This. He used production software to produce these tracks using drums, synths and piano etc. As I said in a previous post I know the basics in FL Studio its just a case of learning some of the more advanced stuff.

Location and Actor Problem

The location I have chosen is too far away for anyone at school to act in my film so I need to find a location closer to school so I can film it in frees/after school or during Film Studies lessons. One possibility is my friend Sam's house as it is only a 5-10 minute walk from school.

Another problem I have is that Sammy is unavailable to film at weekends and is busy during the week with three coursework deadlines coming up so it is now unrealistic to have her in my film. I now need to find another female actor who isn't too tied up with etc. which is going to be hard to find as deadlines are coming up in all subjects so most people will be busy trying to meet these deadlines. To be honest I think we have started working on this too late as if we had started earlier in the year coursework deadlines would have been less of a problem and people would have been available to be in my film.

Hopefully I will have found an actor over the weekend so I can start filming next week and begin editing the week after which will leave me a couple of weeks to do my evaluation.