In my last reflection, I promised to be more organized. Our group has been discussing both in person and through wechat(it’s like a Chinese snapchat) group. Here’s what we produced—click the picture to see the full image:
^^^Final Production Schedule: last modified_20160926^^^
^^^Meeting notes and “Already-done Chart”^^^
As you can see on the chart, we’ve already done the voiceover for the male actor and the last scene at the beach. During the making of the production schedule, we were a bit frustrated as we had such a tight filming schedule and the weather was not agreeing with us at all. And we also had to make adjustments so that we are all free on those days. It was a tough call. It was, in my opinion, a bit brave to devote ourselves to the film almost completely while we have other stuff going on in our hands. I’d say we’ve done a pretty good job so far in collaboration. Everyone replies to the group chat messages, even our male actor, Lester; everyone was contributing. Sylvia was always the one who first tell us the messages from Robin; Rachel woke up early and sometimes wake us if necessary; I wrote up the plan and gathered the work. I believe it will turn out good.
The filming we did on Sunday was a weary job, but we were happy. We did more than five takes for “the walk” of Lester and the result still wasn’t the one I really wanted. I couldn’t believe that it was that hard to get the shot I want. How he walked, when he walk, the camera position, the tacking shot and the framing were all taken into consideration, not to mention the basic settings of the camera. I guess that I failed to get the exact shot due to two reasons. The first is that I think I know what I want, yet actually, I don’t. I don’t know it because I haven’t studied the shots in film quite closely enough to tell all the factors that influence the shot—the basic components. I haven’t considered it enough to explain myself clearly to Rachel, our camerawoman. The second is that I know the feeling I want, but I do not know how to achieve it, which is something I am learning from being a member of this studio—to “speak” in film language. I have to say that none of us are confident enough to claim a basic proficiency in the language of film. In the mean time, I also learnt that sometimes I should accept the imperfections. Maybe I was too critical about the shots. I have to accept the abilities I have now and improve it gradually.
Then it comes today, when all three of decided to redo everything we did so far—including the voiceover. I actually was thinking of reshoot, but I was worried that we will waste too much time. Rachel looked at the clips and said decisively that we should redo the clips. I agreed. The costume looked so wrong and letting me to act wasn’t a great idea as I am already the director. This teaches me that I shouldn’t take up too much work more than I can do. Also, we should have paid more attention to the costume and props. The lack of thorough consideration was the reason that the clips turned out not well. This we shall remember.
A complete make-over is done as three of us rushed to the shopping centre and bought clothes for Lester. Hope that the filming will go more smoothly next time! 🙂
