The editing process was an interesting one for me, Christi and Jordan were quite on the ball and apart from actually sitting at the computer and working there wasn't a lot I could do to help. That being said I still came into the edit suite as often as possible to check on things and offer constructive feedback and make sure everyone was on task. Most of the time they were and despite a tight editing schedule the work got done to a good standard in good time.
One creative thing that came from the edit was the way we will in future treat special effects, some of the things we wanted to do didnt work and some of the things we did do could have been achieved more easily. There are a few ways we could have figured them out before production such as test shoots and test edits but the fact that the schedule changed so much made these things difficult to plan. However I am a little glad we didn't know exactly how easy it could have been, this could have led to an overuse of things popping up added with after effects as the muzzle flashes were. I think the balance between comedy, story and effect is just right, it isnt a camera exorcise but a tasteful and playful film, a fine line we could have easily fallen off.
We also have a very different end product to the script for a lot of reasons. Firstly its because of large changes in post, Christi's original script was too much for the time scale, there were too many ideas within it. We had a really long session talking about where to take the script and came up with some good ideas and simplifying the idea a lot. However, I believe, the problem with the project on the whole is that after this meeting the other group members left it to me and Christi to plan the film. They were told to come along to the scripting discussion and the shot listing session but they didn't. This lead to lots of production issues and a lack of coherence between the team. Finally a lack of professional actors and Christi's directing style led to takes being improvised and different every time causing continuity and editing problems.
I think overall that is why we have a different product, with a lack of coherence and muddled story lines we never quite knew what we were making. With the coverage I made sure of and the voice of Christi that was written in the script and executed on set we ended up with a nice final project, cobbled together from takes a little all over the place.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Saturday, 1 June 2013
Lack of Prestige (Magicians Veil) Production
Day 1
Schedule:
20.30 Meet Outside uni with equipment actors and props.
21.15 Arrive at alley location.
21.45 Start Alley Shoot. Scene 2, Scene 5.
12.00 breaktime
12.30Carry on with shoot
01.30 Finish scene 5. Walk to sitting location Scene 6
2.00 Shoot scene 6
3.00 Shoot scene 7 (costume change)
4.00 Shoot ends.
Unfortunately at 2 we lost battery in the audio at 2 and only got to shoot scene 2. This was due to poor acting and bad set ups.
Day 2
Failed Day shoot
2030 arrive at location to finish scene 3 and film scene 5 and final scene
2300 Shoot scene 2
2330 walk to carpark location and shoot scene 6 and 7
0100 break
0200 Shoot subway scene
0400 fin
This time the camera battery died and we again failed to shoot scene 6 7 and the subway scene.
Day 3
Failed to shoot
Day 4
failed to shoot
Day 5
Failed to shoot
Day 6
1800 start shoot and continue till finish... which was at 0600 the next day, a hard shoot but we got it all done over the time.
Schedule:
20.30 Meet Outside uni with equipment actors and props.
21.15 Arrive at alley location.
21.45 Start Alley Shoot. Scene 2, Scene 5.
12.00 breaktime
12.30Carry on with shoot
01.30 Finish scene 5. Walk to sitting location Scene 6
2.00 Shoot scene 6
3.00 Shoot scene 7 (costume change)
4.00 Shoot ends.
Unfortunately at 2 we lost battery in the audio at 2 and only got to shoot scene 2. This was due to poor acting and bad set ups.
Day 2
Failed Day shoot
2030 arrive at location to finish scene 3 and film scene 5 and final scene
2300 Shoot scene 2
2330 walk to carpark location and shoot scene 6 and 7
0100 break
0200 Shoot subway scene
0400 fin
This time the camera battery died and we again failed to shoot scene 6 7 and the subway scene.
Day 3
Failed to shoot
Day 4
failed to shoot
Day 5
Failed to shoot
Day 6
1800 start shoot and continue till finish... which was at 0600 the next day, a hard shoot but we got it all done over the time.
Lack of Prestige (Magicians Veil) pre production!
So scripting this one has had a lot of stages...
We began looking at it a few months ago, there were a few formatting issues and small mistakes but overall it was a strong film with some great characters, ideas and a really strong voice that bridges comedy and drama. We kept all of that good stuff but streamlined and formatted the script. The problem we then had was that there were two narratives. It begins with Nick, an aging market seller, being entranced and introduced to the world of magic and overcoming his skepticism. The second narrative was a battle with the magician and Nick against a "Prophesist". We tried as hard as possible to make that work and discussed a possible drug plot to make it grittier. However even with all the changes it didnt feel right and we had over 12pages of script so something had to go. We spent a lot of time deciding what to cut and settled on the fact that we could only use 1 narrative of the two, out of the two we chose Nick being introduced to the world of magic, to me it seemed the funnier and more relatable part of the film.
With that in mind Christi went away and rewrote/ adjusted what we had sent it on to me and I edited it a little and we think its about ready. Christi isn't happy with the ending but for now we will keep it as it is and if he rewrites something fantastic we will use it. Although the project has changed a lot I think it fits the brief a lot better and am looking forward to filming it!
This first shot is on the market in sheffield and will be practically the same as the first shot of the film.
We got a large selection for each area and these are some of the best. We will use locations that have good lighting but are also interesting to look at we hope some of these will work out.
Through its many forms of script there have been a lot of different influences and inspirations, what we have arrived at takes parts from all of them and rejects other sections.
At its inception it was described to me as a "gritty realistic" portrayal of urban magic, despite it not turning out this way in the end it immediately pointed us in the direction of films such as This is England (2006 Shane Meadows) and many other Meadows films. They encouraged us to add an aspect of violence and or drugs that in "gritty British" films unfortunately represent Britain realistically. This model isn't just perpetuated by Meadows, many British films, specifically those set in London, portray Britain in this way such as Harry Brown (2009 Daniel Barber) and Kidulthood (2006 Menhaj Huda). We attempted to add a more violent and drug orientated subplot to the film but on development it became clear that this style was not right for the lightheartedness of the film.
For some time we moved in the opposite direction, it was suggested in one of our feedback sessions that we consider our audience, could this be a children's or family film? This lead us to look a little at films like The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010 Jon Turteltaub) which deals with magic in a very realistic way. We kept the realistic aspect of the film but didn't want a family audience, a lot of our comedy comes from our character who's traits depend on his rudeness and brash qualities which contrast comically with the magicians manners.
Another film which springs to mind for me, in reference to both narrative and characteristic inspiration is The Fisher King (1991 Terry Gilliam). The slight arc at least of characters being introduced to new worlds fits nicely. The characters also share similar but not exact characteristics, at very least they are similarly opposite and the ways in which they react to one another and ultimately work together similarly reflects our film.
This is England, 2006, Meadows S. UK, Big Arty Productions, Film4.
Harry Brown, 2009, Barber D. UK, UK Film Council.
Kidulthood 2006, Huda M. UK, Stealth Films, Cipher Films.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice, 2010,Turteltaub J. USA, Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
The Fisher King, 1991, Gilliam T. USA, Columbia Pictures Corporation
We began looking at it a few months ago, there were a few formatting issues and small mistakes but overall it was a strong film with some great characters, ideas and a really strong voice that bridges comedy and drama. We kept all of that good stuff but streamlined and formatted the script. The problem we then had was that there were two narratives. It begins with Nick, an aging market seller, being entranced and introduced to the world of magic and overcoming his skepticism. The second narrative was a battle with the magician and Nick against a "Prophesist". We tried as hard as possible to make that work and discussed a possible drug plot to make it grittier. However even with all the changes it didnt feel right and we had over 12pages of script so something had to go. We spent a lot of time deciding what to cut and settled on the fact that we could only use 1 narrative of the two, out of the two we chose Nick being introduced to the world of magic, to me it seemed the funnier and more relatable part of the film.
With that in mind Christi went away and rewrote/ adjusted what we had sent it on to me and I edited it a little and we think its about ready. Christi isn't happy with the ending but for now we will keep it as it is and if he rewrites something fantastic we will use it. Although the project has changed a lot I think it fits the brief a lot better and am looking forward to filming it!
All of our next film will be shot in the night time(ish) and will be outside in streets and markets so we looked around sheffield with a camera to see how it would look on film. Lights were not available so it wasn't a great test but we suspect if we can find a location where the background is lit well lighting the characters with small spots shouldnt be too tricky.
Through its many forms of script there have been a lot of different influences and inspirations, what we have arrived at takes parts from all of them and rejects other sections.
At its inception it was described to me as a "gritty realistic" portrayal of urban magic, despite it not turning out this way in the end it immediately pointed us in the direction of films such as This is England (2006 Shane Meadows) and many other Meadows films. They encouraged us to add an aspect of violence and or drugs that in "gritty British" films unfortunately represent Britain realistically. This model isn't just perpetuated by Meadows, many British films, specifically those set in London, portray Britain in this way such as Harry Brown (2009 Daniel Barber) and Kidulthood (2006 Menhaj Huda). We attempted to add a more violent and drug orientated subplot to the film but on development it became clear that this style was not right for the lightheartedness of the film.
For some time we moved in the opposite direction, it was suggested in one of our feedback sessions that we consider our audience, could this be a children's or family film? This lead us to look a little at films like The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010 Jon Turteltaub) which deals with magic in a very realistic way. We kept the realistic aspect of the film but didn't want a family audience, a lot of our comedy comes from our character who's traits depend on his rudeness and brash qualities which contrast comically with the magicians manners.
Another film which springs to mind for me, in reference to both narrative and characteristic inspiration is The Fisher King (1991 Terry Gilliam). The slight arc at least of characters being introduced to new worlds fits nicely. The characters also share similar but not exact characteristics, at very least they are similarly opposite and the ways in which they react to one another and ultimately work together similarly reflects our film.
This is England, 2006, Meadows S. UK, Big Arty Productions, Film4.
Harry Brown, 2009, Barber D. UK, UK Film Council.
Kidulthood 2006, Huda M. UK, Stealth Films, Cipher Films.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice, 2010,Turteltaub J. USA, Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
The Fisher King, 1991, Gilliam T. USA, Columbia Pictures Corporation
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