Filming Session 2

Today we had the morning to finish the production of the film. Since last week I have been emailing the parks authority in order to gain permission for Sydney Gardens and Victoria Park. The email is as follows:

Hi Jack - I am assuming that the filming is going ahead today Friday 11 Dec despite the extremely cold weather. I have now seen a copy of your original request and please note that Parks does not deal with giving permission for the use of the canal path that runs along the perimeter of part of Sydney Gardens - think Rachel will advise that you would need to contact British Waterways.

I can confirm that permission is given for City of Bath College to film in Royal Victoria Park and the Circus - the project involves creative and media study students working on a production to include Gothic Bath.

Thanks

We did not have permission for Sydney gardens and did not have enough time to contact British Waterways so we decided to cut the sequence that was due to be shot there from the film, as it adds nothing really to the story and does not feature anything particularly Gothic.

We decided to start with the location that was furthest away from the college, which was Victoria Park. The shot we decided to shoot involved Abi running through the park with the Royal Crescent in the background. The conditions were foggy which added an atmosphere to the shot and we were able to frame the crescent in an original way that looked quite Gothic. I directed Daisy to set the camera up in a position which allowed the shot to be framed by the branches of the trees. I also directed Abi to enter from the right of the frame and told her to move faster or slower. The shot took a couple of takes as we tried to work out how the sequence would work.

Then we went to film the shot at The Circus. It involved Abi sitting at the base of a tree. I decided to start the shot in the branches of the tree and pan down to the girl. We only did one take as the conditions were extremely cold.

After break we went to film the final shot at Southgate Shopping Centre. We had no written permission but we managed to get permission from Republic, the shop that we were filming outside. I was acting in the shot, and because I m not a very good actor the shot took lots of takes to complete. We also had to avoid any red in the shot which was difficult as the shot involved members of the public.

We have now completed the production of the film and are ready for the post-production.

Filming Session 1

Today was the first day we have scheduled for filming. We set out to film shots at the locations we currently have permission for, that is all public highways and the train station. I was working on the shoot as director and was responsible for setting up a good frame for each shot and also keeping track of the gear.
The first location we chose was the Paragon Steps. We decided to film two shots of Abi walking down the steps, one from the bottom and one from the top. We will edit the them together to create the sequence. I directed Abi to stop at certain points on the staircase and look around in order to give to sequence some context.
Then we went to Laura Place. After experimenting with the shot we decided to have Abi sat on the top level of the fountain. My job was to start the action when there was a gap in the traffic. The shot was difficult to arrange as we needed to avoid anything red in the shot and there were several members of the public around, but eventually we did it in one take.
I changed into my costume then we went to Helting Court where the first scene that involved me as an actor was to take place. The shot took a few takes as acting was difficult in the cold. The second shot there was filmed as I went to change back.
The final scene of the day was filmed in the tunnels at the train station. The plan was to film Abi entering the tunnel and then another shot showing her running through it. We had to change the camera settings to adjust to the change in light conditions, but we could not totally eradicate the red coloured lighting. This could prove a problem later when it comes to the editing.
In total the day went very well. Sara from Suited and Booted said that she was very impressed with our group.