Shot list changes, Scheduling and call sheets in Preparation for Studio Shoot

Today I had arranged to meet Katherine, Nicole and possible Logan (didn't know if he was coming) to sort out the shoot schedule and the call sheets in preparation for the shoot in two days. However when I got there at the arranged time I discovered that none of them were in yet which was very frustrating as I didn't have all the relevant information to do these jobs myself. While beginning to look into the shoot schedule I then met the camera team in the Library who said they really needed to talk to me about the shot list.

I sat with the camera team and they explained to me that the video they had now seen last night from rehearsals now changes their whole shot list which they aren't very happy about. They also said it want clear what action was happening where. This was because we were not rehearsing in our actual set space due to the other group having their props in there. I discovered that one of the original scripts they had worked from was very vague and different from the script we actually worked from and a lot of information Logan gave to them verbally he left out the script therefore we didn't instruct the actors to do this. This issue was basically caused from a slight lack of communication between the Director Logan and the Camera team. I had to apologise to them and sit running through the rehearsal video to explain the action to them and where it is taking place. This helped them however it changed a lot of their shot list so I wen through helping them redo the parts of this shot list that needed redoing. their was so much that this took at least two hours with them to resolve. I also because we had only blocked out about 60% of action had to make an executive decision as the only director/producer present to write out what will happen in the rest of the action so that the camera team could make their shortlist for this and know that it wouldn't change again. I then informed Logan that he now needed to when he got in update his script ASAP to now match my actions/basic script I had made from the rehearsal video and from the shot list. He agreed he would do this when he got in with my assistance however because he showed up several hours later than he told me I left him to do this alone as I had no time to help and no energy left.

However while I was in the library waiting round for him I met Nicole (assistant producer) and we were going o make the shoot schedule however when I went to the new shot list that had been made just earlier this day I noticed that despite his promises Ollie (Gaffa) had still not filled out his section in which he was meant to say which lighting set up went with which shot. This meant I couldn't really make a Schedule for shooting because I needed to specifics of lighting so I could group all sets ups that were the same together to be shot at one time. I had to message him but got no response so contacted Katherine (Producer) and she went and got hold of him and told him he had to do this in the next hour. While I waited for this to be done I helped Nicole to fill in the call sheets as best as she could for now with out the schedule. We couldn't complete them obviously because we needed a shoot schedule to plan call times etc. We went as far as we could with it though. Then because I was still waiting for either Logan to show up and update the script with me or Ollie to complete his lighting set up list which neither of them had I moved on to use what I already knew about the lighting and make a basic shooting day schedule idea. Looking through all my notes I made the executive decision to have all the shots using the red lighting set up first on day one followed by all the blue lighting set up later on in day one. Then on day two of shooting I thought we should begin by filming all the close ups as these all use one key light set up. Then later in the day filming all the remaining shots which just use a naturalistic lighting set up. This plan was agreed via messenger with Katherine. Then because I still was unable to do the schedule fully myself and Katherine have agreed to meet very early tomorrow morning to sort it out before the Pre-light begins. Then we will hand this on to Nicole so she can finish the Call sheets which we began today. Then we can send all of this out to our team and the actresses tomorrow.

Today has been very stressful for me because due to lack of commitment from certain members of my group I am being forced to go above and beyond with my job role by also doing other peoples for them. However I am glad I managed to get the major problems resolved by the end of the day because thankfully we now have an updated script which Logan made based on the rehearsal and my plan. We also now have a finalised shot list and a lighting plan for each shot so tomorrow I can get straight on with the shot schedule and anything that will need doing then my focus will go onto the pre-light and the actual shoot!

Studio Shoot Group Meeting 6

We met Monday morning officially as a whole group just to make sure everyone knew their roles and what they had left to do before the shoot at the end of this week. Everyone attended apart from Logan and Ade who weren't able to make it.

We began by checking that everyone was happy with their roles on shoot day. People were apart from a few individuals who's roles on set weren't clear so we myself (AD) and Kat (Producer) set these to them and clarified what they needed to do. Chloe who is our storyboard artist will be Grip on set as she has had plenty of practice in our workshops with operating the Dolly. Nicole who is Assistant Producer will help her by also being Grip on set and a runner. Katherine has also offered to be a runner on set when she isn't doing anything with her producer role. Jay who is set designer is going to be checking continuity as we shoot and also a runner if needed. All the runner have also understood that they will need to step in and help with anyone who is struggling. We are also concerned about sound being recorded on set due to Ade our sound man having a lot of personal problems at the moment and therefore being unreliable so Katherine and Nicole have said they can step in and record sound on the day if needed and as I have done the workshop too I will be able to help with any of this. Katherine also informed me she thought out of me and Logan (Director) I should be the main person instructing and directing the actors as I had a larger understanding of how best to do this. I agreed to do this and Logan will instead keep an eye more generally on the whole piece and the more technical elements.

We then looked at Ollie (Gaffa) lighting plans he had drawn out and he explained his plans which were essentially to have natural lighting but then it flashes between red and blue at the tense moments. I got myself a copy of this to look at and work from and asked him to put which lighting set up goes with which shot on the shot list as he told me he was going to do this last week and still hadn't. I need this information as I need to make a shoot schedule. He agreed to get it done for me as soon as possible.

We then resisted the new storyboard Chloe had done and were all very happy with it.

Then Me and Kat explained to the rest of the group how rehearsals went on Friday night and we explained all the light changes and tweaks we made so they were aware. The one very annoying thing was though that Logan had made a video of this rehearsal to show the group yet he failed to upload it before this meeting like he said he would so we couldn't show them. Then we had him fail to update or send us the updated script which he was also meant to do before this meeting so again this hindered us as the camera crew etc were waiting to see it to finalise their shot list. Kat chased him up about this after the meeting and on Monday night we got the Rehearsal video but not an updated script.

Nicole also then ran us through what she had managed to purchase for the actors at the weekend in term of costume and we were all happy with this. Then Kat offered to provide the makeup we needed on set which was helpful. I need to just get the actors to try their costumes and have a backup ready if they are not right.

I then made Jay aware as set designer that he needed on Wednesday to finish dressing the set completely and also to construct and fit the wooden mirror frame which he has agreed he will do.

I felt like this meeting was helpful just to make sure we knew were everyone was at with their roles and to keep everyone up to date on what will happen in the shoot days. Me, Katherine and Nicole agreed to meet on Tuesday afternoon to make the shoot schedule and call sheets so we know what the next step is.

More Studio Shoot/Set Preparation and Rehearsals!

On Friday we had a lot of small bits to finish up doing ready for our shoot next week. I began by working with a group of people to further update the prop list and check that we had everything we needed and the stuff we were still missing I spoke to the relevant people to source it. Here is the further updated list:

Production design material and prop list

NAME	Make	Buy	Owned	Cost
Mirror frame	Jay will be making this out of skirting board - Need to get measurements and then buy from Homebase £2.99 for 2M	Need to Buy the Skirting Board
Chair x2			Jay - has two of these and will bring them Monday 28th
Curtains (the other group are using a blind? )			They have some in the studio!
Bed sheet or something similar - To hang on the mirror to cover it	Got something in the Studio to use
Lamp x2			Katherine - Metal / glass lamp with cream shade to bring in Friday Sugini - Metal Lamp with purple shade (already here)
Post its			Billie had brought them in
Ink splots			Billie brought it in
Potted plant			Logan brought his dead plant in and will provide more on Wednesday 30th Katherine has provided a dead plant Sugini to bring in fake nice plant Friday 25th
Moss and vines			Logan and Jay to bring in on Wednesday 30th
Condoms			Billie already brought them in. Jay to bring in box for them Friday 25th.
Wedding ring			Billie already brought in rings. Sugini will bring in a box for it Friday 25th.
high heels			Billie already brought one pair in. Choe brought in another pair of heels.
Alcohol bottles			Billie brought a few in but can more people bring more please as and when they get them.
Water bottle		Jay will go and buy these
Bible			Katherine - I have one, please bring Friday 25th
Baby objects /teddy bear			Billie has brought 2 teddy's in already.
Pencils /stationary			Jay will bring these in Friday 25th
Art supplies / pallet			Billie already brought some in
motivational and music and dirty posters		Jay has already brought these
Photos selfies	Need to print these and hang them
Paint	DONE	DONE	DONE
Painting sand, sand paper, brushes, other painting equipment	DONE	DONE	DONE
Broken phone			Ollie owns one, Please bring this in for Friday 25th if possible
desk/ bed side table		Desk has been brought from Charity Shop to match the one in the other side of the set
Costume elements  (look at costume design)	TBC	TBC	TBC

I then sat down with the set designer and discussed where he was planning on putting all these props and we separated them into two piles. One for the Id side and one for the Superego side of the set. This allowed us to work out if we had enough. I felt like we didn't so I asked the entire group to bring in with them on Wednesday before our shoot any extra props they felt were helpful to the piece and also anything that would help make it look like a bedroom.

Myself and Nicole (Assistant Producer) then moved on to look at the costume plans we were provided by the set designer. I liked where he was going with it by having them match with a few small changes to make the Id look more childish and sexualised however we had to revise it because we had to think about the movement the actors would be doing and how effected they would be by the costume. We decided to simplify it as well because we didn't want to make it too obvious and we also needed to keep in mind the budget. We decided on for the Superego: Black leggings, a very floaty white vest top and white socks. Then for the Id we decided on: Black cycling/gym shorts, A tight white vest top (which we will muck up a bit) and black knee high socks. This means their colour schemes match but the Superego will be much more covered up an graceful where as the Id will be much more skin baring and messy. We then went on line to loo at a few cloths websites and work out where we could get these items from the cheapest. We decided on Primark because it was the cheapest and it sold everything we were looking for. Later on I spoke to the actresses to check they were happy with these costumes which they were and then I got all the sizes they wanted as well. I then wrote this all down and gave it to Nicole as she offered to go pick these up at the weekend. We then discussed their makeup and hair as well and we decided that to keep with the neat look we would have our Superego with her hair tied up where as our Id would have her hair down and all messed up. Then for makeup we were going to put them in very simplistic makeup but with red lipstick. The Makeup on our Id will be done all nicely where as the make up on our Superego will be much messier to again reflect who they are. The actresses again agreed to this and were very happy with it.

Next I began looking into the main props we were still missing which was the mirror frame to go round the gap to make it appear like it is actually a mirror and not just a door frame. We had spoke about making these from skirting board so I helped measure out how much we would need to make this and then began searching online for the cheapest places to get this from. The cheapest place was B&Q however there was no stock left in any stores nearby that we could get to. We then looked at the next cheapest which was Home base but adding this up made us realise that with budget in mind we shouldn't really buy it from here. I then asked around our group to see if anyone had any wood or skirting board etc spare that we could use. Jay told us he had a lot of planks of wood at home which he agreed he would be able to make into a frame using the workshop at the university. So I then arranged for Nicole to take him to pick them up this afternoon along with the two chairs of his that we needed and she agreed. Whilst they went off and did this I went through paperwork with Katherine to help her update it.

I also went with Katherine (producer) to go book extra time in the studio on the relevant days we needed it for our evening rehearsals and shoot days allowing us more time. We also went through and sorted out the equipment making sure that everything we wanted was booked out ready for us.

I then spent time reading through logan (Directors) updated script and getting myself prepared for the rehearsals we had this evening with the actresses. We had arranged the rehearsal to start at 4 and run till 7. The other group who were working in the studio with us this day were doing their preflight but had already agreed a number of times that they would be done and packed up and out the room by 4. However for a reason not given to us they hadn't finished at 4 so we compromised and said they could have an extra half an hour and we began reading through the script with the actresses in the other side of the room. This extra half hour compromise then turned into 1hour and a half which was very unprofessional and very embarrassing for us as we had actors present. We improvised though and carried on our rehearsal just using a much smaller space at the side of the room than we originally anticipated. The rehearsal went really well apart from this though because the actresses were very good at taking our directions but also they were very inventive with the piece themselves. We worked in a way were gave them very open directions but then let them try it out and adapt it to how they felt comfortable and then we worked with them to build on the routine counts of 8 at a time. We also provided them music to help them get into the theme and feelings of the piece as well. We then once we had blocked a large section wrote down the moves and also recorded them on a camera just to help them remember the routine when they return next time. Because of the delays we unfortunately didn't get the whole routine done but majority was blocked out which was promising. We were also meant to rehearse on Tuesday evening to be able to block the rest of the routine out and get the camera team to watch it however due to one of the actresses now having work commitments we have changed it to Thursday morning before the shoot when we will finish blocking. I feel like this will still work though because of how well it went today with them. I am very excited as we get closer to the shoot days next week now!

Research on Movement Pieces - Preparation for Studio Shoot

In preparation for tomorrows rehearsals with our actresses to block out our piece I have decided to do some research into stylised movement pieces which I feel will be of a similar style to how we want our actresses to move from what I have seen that they can do in the Auditions.

Sia's and Maddie's performance of Chandelier (2014)



I really like this piece because of how abstract yet fluid the moment of the dancer is. She has such a unique style which I don't want to copy completely as after all this isa dance and we are not trying to make our piece sole a dance. However there are a few elements I want to take from this such as the facial expressions of the dancer. They are so large and bold that the camera picks them up even in long shots which is really useful. I feel for our character of the Id we need this similar bold facial expressions to help convey how much the Id is based on the wants of the person. I also like how childish and innocent this dance becomes in places which again works for our Id because we want her to be very childish again to reflect what the Id is. I feel like the abstract style will be built up to this in our piece because the more tension their is and the more that the reality of the pice becomes broken the more we will want to reflect that in our actresses. I feel like the Id will be much more like the animalistic stylised parts of the dance were as the Superego character will stay quite graceful like this dancer was in places. Another interesting aspect this piece has left me thinking about is how well the dancer has interacted with the space here. I feel like we need to think of interesting ways to have our actresses interacting with our props and the space to keep it exciting through out.


Charly Chaplin - The Lion's Cage (1928)



I was drawn to look at the work of Charly Chaplin because when we auditioned one of our chosen Actresses her movements for parts of her audition were very exaggerated and it led me to think of Charly Chaplin. I have looked at this piece in particular because I like how inventive he is trying to get himself out of the Lions cage. I feel we need to think more in terms of are piece how the actress could deal with her reflection in more interesting ways like this. We aren't necessarily going for humour but we want the Id to become exaggerated in this way as the piece moves on. I again really like the facial expressions used here and how much they convey to us as an audience. I need to make sure the actresses get into this mind set of displaying their emotions in a similar way even more so as the tension builds. I like also in this the fast pace of it. We will use that in places however to keep it exciting we won't have it as far paced the whole way through. We will keep it varied.


The Cabinet of Dr Caligari - Werner Krauss (1919)


I looked at parts of this film after a recommendation from one of my tutors after seeing the synopsis for our piece. I liked how this expressionist piece of film uses such abstract techniques yet still portrays a narrative and story to the viewer. I feel like in terms of movement it is very interesting for similar reasons why I found Chaplin inspiring too. I think the large facial expressions here were used but it has made me think more about how interesting lighting can be used in close ups to make you focus on the characters face more. This could be a suggestion I give to our Gaffa. I also felt like the stillness actually really helped to build tension here. Unlike Chaplin they didn't rush through it a instead embraced the long moments of thought from the characters and the reactions which made them make more of an impact. I feel like we need to have a combination of these tense still moments and also of the frantic Chaplin inspired moments to help keep it even more exciting.

This research and viewing has really helped me feel a lot more prepared for when we meet with the actresses tomorrow which means I will be able to give clearer direction. A lot of these thought were in my head anyway but it makes me feel a lot more organised and ready now having thought them all the way through with reasoning. I am very excited for our rehearsals and our shoot now.

Sourcing the Props and continuing Decorating the Set! Studio Shoot Preparation

Firstly in preparation for today we got our Set Designer to draw up a prop list and put it on a Google Doc which we could all access. We then went through the day before and people wrote their names next to props which they already owned and would be able to bring it. I then asked everyone to bring in all their props they had offered up for the piece this morning. I then went through the list and all the props we had collected as a group and spent time with Jay working out which ones we were going to use and where. It also gave me time to update the google document so that we could work out what we still had left to find, what we needed to buy or make and what we needed to cut due to be budget conscious. Here was my updated list once we had run through it this morning:

Production design material and prop list

NAME	Make	Buy	Owned	Cost
Mirror frame	Jay will be making this out of skirting board - Need to get measurements and then buy from Homebase £2.99 for 2M	Need to Buy the Skirting Board
Chair x2			Jay - has two of these and will bring them Monday 28th
Curtains (the other group are using a blind? )			They have some in the studio!
Bed sheet or something similar - To hang on the mirror to cover it	Got something in the Studio to use
Lamp x2			Katherine - Metal / glass lamp with cream shade to bring in Friday Sugini - Metal Lamp with purple shade (already here)
Post its			Billie had brought them in
Ink splots			Billie brought it in
Potted plant			Logan brought his dead plant in and will provide more on Wednesday 30th Sugini to bring in fake nice plant Friday 25th
Moss and vines			Logan and Jay to bring in on Wednesday 30th
Condoms			Billie already brought them in. Jay to bring in box for them Friday 25th.
Wedding ring			Billie already brought in rings. Sugini will bring in a box for it Friday 25th.
high heels			Billie already brought one pair in. Can another girl please bring in another pair!
Alcohol bottles			Billie brought a few in but can more people bring more please as and when they get them.
Water bottle		Jay will go and buy these
Bible			Katherine - I have one, please bring Friday 25th
Baby objects /teddy bear			Katherine - I have a few, I believe, Bring what you have for Friday 25th. Billie has brought 2 teddy's in already.
mum / dad mugs		Jay will go buy these
Pencils /stationary			Jay will bring these in Friday 25th
Art supllies / pallet		Jay might go buy more?	Billie already brought some in
motivational and music and dirty posters		Jay has already brought these
Photos selphies	Need to print these and hang them
Paint	DONE	DONE	DONE
Painting sand, sand paper, brushes, other painting equipment	DONE	DONE	DONE
Broken phone			Ollie owns one, Please bring this in for Friday 25th if possible
desk/ bed side table		We desperately need to source these!
Costume elements  (look at costume design)	TBC	TBC	TBC

The things highlighted green are what we had in front of us at the time. I then to make it clear for everyone who wasn't there today put specific dates of when people needed to bring in the other props. I feel like this has uncomplicated what was beginning to become quite stressful for Jay on his own. I then made everyone aware of this update so that they can organise themselves accordingly or let us know of their is anything else they can help with.

Then I moved on to begin to trim the bottom of all the wallpaper in our set as it was dragging on the floor where some of our lengths were too long. This too some time and patience but thankfully people from my group helped as well. We then used masking tape to carefully stick down any bits which were peeling away as the paint had made some of the lining paper so wet it had began to peel off. However we weren't too concerned about this as it added to our desired effect of a beaten up room.

Then I moved on to beginning to put some of the props up in the space. We started with things that could go onto walls as we didn't have our furniture yet. We put up a curtain pole and curtains which we made look scruffy to match the style.

Then a select group of us began to put up posters in the space and make a collage out of them on the wall to add to the mess Jay wanted. While we did this I sent a small team of people which consisted of Sugini, Ade and Jay to find the desk we wanted. I had done some research into this and found out that the other group who were filming first in the other half the set had a desk which they go cheaply so I kindly arranged with them to leave this in one of our spaces for our shoot days and they agreed. Then this meant we only had to find one to match it on the other side. I directed them to begin their search in the same place that the other group had brought theres from however they found out they were out of stock. They then decided to go look in the large charity shop nearby in Aldershot and there they were able to locate a desk which match the one in the other space apart from it was black instead of white. This worked though as the two sides weren't directly meant to match anyway as one is darker and messier. Katherine, Logan and myself gave them a go ahead so they purchased it. It turned out nicely and they arrived back with it at the end of the day. We just need to put it back together tomorrow as it was disassembled to be able to fit into Sugini's car! While they were out here is what we created in the space in and amongst helping other members of the group understand their role and help them with their paperwork.

We then finished off the day by a few of us including myself staying a little later just to mop up the floor in our side of the set as a lot of paint splatters were on it from our painting that week. It is clean and ready so that tomorrow we can build our desk and put this and the rest of the props in the space.

I have also sorted out a plan of action for tomorrow with Katherine and Logan. Ade who is Sound in our team has got a Folly studio booked for tomorrow morning so he will be in their recording even more sounds for the soundscape with the kind assistance of Jay. The need multiple peoples voices for this so they will pop in and take people out of our class one by one to quickly go help. Then once they are done Ade has got himself an editing suite booked to go and begin making the Soundscape. Jay is going to rejoin the class at this point to finish off the lighting workshop which the rest of our group will be attending. Then when the other group begin their Pre-light later on in the day we will leave the studio space and reconvene with out group in the library for a meeting to prepare for our shoot the following week. Then at 4pm when the others groups pre-light will be done myself as Assistant Director, Logan as Director and Katherine as Producer are meeting our two chosen actress's back in the studio space to begin working on blocking out our piece now using Logan's finished script. This will run till 7 and will give us a chance to let the actors work on it with our guidance and make sure we know and they know how the piece will look ready for the actual shoot the following week.

I am very happy with today as we have made a lot of progress as a group and I have tried my best to make sure that everyone is helping so that we can achieve the best results.