First shoot and analyzing the footage

I spent sunday shooting my film. I planned for all my actors to show up at 12 so we could spend the entire afternoon shooting, however some showed up as late as 3 and one did not show up at all. This meant I had to work quite fast to get some footage and make do with the people who did turn up. The one actor who did not show up had a primary role so instead of writing him out I printed a picture of his face and taped it to another guys face. I thought this would be acceptable for my film since it has a cut and paste aesthetic. I also think it is quite comical. 

As I went through the footage I noticed a lot of improvements that I could make. I have analyzed these by taking screenshots and writing notes on them  of what could be improved. Some of these notes are not all improvements to make but things I liked and to continue doing. 

During my midterm review my tutuor suggested experimenting with a green screen. This idea really appealed to me so I would like to experiment with one and see if I can utilize it for my film. I have never used a green screen before so this could be a good opportunity to learn something new. 

One of the things I thought could be improved was the guts and blood that come spewing out of the bodies being attacked by the zombies. I mixed water and ketchup to make my blood concoction but on film it is more of an orange colour than red and is too watery. I want to make the blood more dramatic. My tutor suggested looking into getting chain linked sausages and mixing that with red poster paint to be guts and blood. I had originally stuffed skin tone tights with cotton but I like the idea of chain linked sausages a lot more. I think it could be hilarious and disgusting. 

Another thing I noticed was that I did not have many close ups, I think this is because my camera has to be connected to power and is hard to move. I am less afraid of mixing digital film videos and the VHS film videos and think next time I shoot I will use my digital camera as well because it is more practical for some of the shots I want to get.

Camera Drama

DRAMA 1 

I really really really wanted to film my film on an old VHS camera. It would complete my home made 'Be Kind Rewind' style film. I found one on ebay for and ordered it, when it came I tried to work it and then suddenly a really weird smell came out of it and it would not turn on again!!! I was so upset. I really did not want to stress about getting a new one and run around like a headless chicken so I decided to just use my digital one. I was at a gig a few days later getting footage of some bands playing and watching how they act and behave. I was talking to a friend of mine about my project and he tells me he has an old VHS camera that hasn't been touched in years and I could borrow . The angels began singing a chorus of hallelujah at that moment, the midnight sky tuned bright blue and the the stars shone brighter. I was so happy. My low-fi dreams seem a little more real now.

DRAMA 2 

 I go to collect this camera and find out that it is operated by power mains. So the camera only works when connected to a box that holds the VHS tape which is connected to the battery which is the size of a loaf of bread which is then connected to a socket in the wall. This basically means I can't run around and film, I can only really get still shots or panning shots. Also, shooting on locations is going to take a whole lot of effort. It is going to take at least three people to move it around while shooting. I am thinking that I may use my digital camera for some shots and just mix the digital in with the VHS videos. 

Although shooting this way has a lot of challenges including transferring the footage from VHS to digital, I think it will be worth it. It is also really fun to experiment with new mediums and expand my horizons a little bit. 

This is the camera.

I have also gone ahead and figured out how to digitalize the videos. There is a special software and chord that you connect to the computer and you record them straight from the machine onto your computer. 

(All images authors own) 

Make up

I sourced the images from various magazine. I just chose images that inspired me and I thought would look good. I particularly liked the idea of having braids or Farrah Fawcett hair. 

My film's whole aesthetic is low-fi, low budget, and home made. I decided to go with a funner colorful version of zombie make up. Trying to get realistic zombie make up would take a lot of practice and a lot of time and I personally really liked the idea of a colorful zombie more than a realistic one.  

The day before I was shooting I had a friend come over so I could practice the zombie make up instead of just winging it on the day. This helped me to know what I was doing on the day better.

The following mood boards and illustrations were the make up inspiration for my models...

Zombie Look 1

(Image authors own)

There were a few things i did not like about his make up. One was the green patch by the lip, it looked more like a leaf  than a scar so I decided I would change this on the actually day. She also look way more like a weird Alice Cooper wannabe than a zombie.

Zombie look 2

(Image authors own) 

The make up on the actual day is not done justice by this photo the flash washed it out. It looked a whole lot better than the first look and was way more zombie like. I think if I could do it over I would of painted her whole face like green or purple or something like that. 

              

(Images all authors own)

Back Drop, Car, other props

I really wanted to have a cool backdrop for the first scene of my film when the band is playing and going crazy. I got these two sheets and hung them in front of my shed and taped them down. I then bought some spray paint and painted the bands name on it. 

(Images all authors own) 

I will be the first to admit that it definitely looks home made and like something a 12 year old made but I kind of like that. I think if I were to make it again I would try and center the word 'little' better and make sure that there is more room for the word 'men' so it wouldn't be so squished. When I come to film I will crop in so that you only see the sheet and not the tree and all the other stuff. I chose to place this sheet here because there would be enough space to shoot and since it is outside the natural lighting will help make the images look better. 

I also got to finally make my cardboard car...

I used duct tape to hold all the pieces of cardboard together. I also used the duct tape to make handles to hold the car up. 

(All images authors own) 

This is what the car looked like before I spray painted it. It was a lot easier to make than I had thought it was going to be. I imagined it would take me at least a whole day but it ended up only taking an hour or less. I had wanted to make it 3D so that the models would actually be inside a car shaped box like creation. However as I layer out the cardboard and began working I realized that was super ambitious. 

I used the leftover cardboard to create little gravestones to make my own little graveyard. 

I taped little kebab roasting stick on the back of them to stick int he ground and hold the grave stones up. I am nervous about my film looking bad but at the same time hopeful that the charm of it's cheapness and homemade feel will shine through. 

Script

I was talking to one of the guys who is going to be acting in my film and he asked me if there was a script or any lines he needed to memorize. This got me thinking that I probably should write up a script. I usually just have my plan/script in my head and just boss my actors and models around. Having a script will actually help me a lot in knowing what I need to do and how I need to do. It is a good way for me to get super organized. It will also hopefully help my cast know what they're doing instead of me just assuming they know what is in my brain. I began loosely writing my script and then went through it again a second time and added a few things. I also made lots of notes for about what I want the shots to look like and some stage directions as well just for extra guidance.  The script is not particularly that well written as it was not one of my primary and main concerns. Admittedly I could of probably spent a little extra time on the script and this probably could of helped my film to be more directed and interesting. In the future I plan to remember that script writing really did help and to keep doing it as I continue to make fashion film especially if there is going to be any dialogue.


The following is an extract from the script I wrote.

Primary Research

I have collected a bunch of primary research of different bands, graveyards, and other locations. I am using the research to help inspire the little details of my film. Since my mystery gang are going to be a band instead of mystery solvers I decided to try and see as many bands live as possible and take note on their behaviors and how they perform and also how they dress.  I've been to a gig almost every week for the last month. I have two sets of friends who are both in bands and their gigs keep me pretty occupied. Loads of other bands play with them including some pretty cool girl bands which inspired me a lot I love the idea of girl power it is exciting and intresting. I love to watch the passion as the musicians play and see the way the music makes people react. This research is particularly important for the first scene of film which is of a band performing. The band I asked to act this scene for me is one that I frequently go to see so I knew what they would be like performing. I find them engaging and enthralling and thought they'd be the perfect fit.

I went to the church up the road from me to take some pictures of the graveyard. I found some really beautiful ones covered in moss. I went there to get inspiration for the grave yard scene in my film. I wanted to feel that spooky feeling and figure how I could recreate that on screen. I had originally intended to shoot a scene at this graveyard, however because the camera I am going to use needs a power supply it will not be possible as there is no power socket. However It is also kind of convenient that I won't be able to use the location as I must think of a way to create my own little graveyard. This way my graveyard will be a homemade one which begins to the everything together. I will use these images to inspire the graveyard I am going to make. 

I went back to this graveyard a few weeks later at midnight with some of my friends. I brought along a sheet to turn one of my friends into a ghost. This experience was fun and enchanting. This got me in the perfect spooky mood to inspire my film. 

Crystal seaguls

Penney Dreadfuls

Little Green Men (Who are also the stars of my film) 

(All images authors own) 

Video by Conor Langton

A video that has also inspired me for the first scene of my film is this music video for Nirvana. 

I also looked around at places that I would potentially like to shoot. This included the golf course behind my house and a dinner pretty called Starvin Marvin's.

(Following images all authors own) 

(All images authors own) 

Props and Bits and Bobs

I am so excited about making the props and sets for the film. I think that these little details are going to be what makes it!

Props and sets I plan to make

• Set for the first scene, backdrop and floor (fabric sheet and cardboard)
• Car (Cardboard0
• Zombie masks and brains 

I have already started planning the car and ordered loads of cardboard and duct tape to make it. I printed off a little layout plan to make a mini model mystery machine. I am going to make this as practice and see if it gives me any more ideas on how to actually put this car together. 

(Images authors own) 

Plot

Since I am making a short film one of the most important bits is the plot. Well, for my film anyway because it is a story based film not just a pretty film or montage type thing. I wrote out fast little brief overview of the plot of my film in my notebook.

(Journal extract laying out the plot, Image authors own.) 

 I then thought it may be easier for me to be able to understand my story better and know exactly what I will need for each scene if I story boarded it. So, I began illustrating each scene in a little booklet.

This is the first page of the story board (Image authors own)

Storyboarding like this has really helped me feel more confident that I know what I am doing and what I need to do to make it happen. It also helps me to understand my story deeper and build my characters and set visually. 

I plan to take each scene from the storyboard and annotate everything that I will need for it. This way I can be super organized and everything will run smoothly when it comes to shooting. 

Styling

Over the holidays I went to a thrift store and purchased a few bits to use as costumes in my film.  I was particularly inspired by denim, Phiney Pet, and the 70's come back trend that is really big at the moment.  I really love the embellishments and the illustrative nature of Phiney Pet's clothing. My idea is to take the garments I bought from the thrift store and customize them and basically decorate them.

I made a few design ideas of how I would like them to look and have also begun thinking about actually cutting them up to make them shorter and to make the sleeves shorter also.

The first shirt I did I made a design of an alien in a space ship on the back using felt. I then started looking at some denim jackers and biker jackers that had been painted on. These jackets looked really cool and the paint gave it a very personal handmade feel which is perfect for my film. I decided I will do some painting on the shirts as well as felt embellishments. I chose to do an alien ship on the back since there is an alien abduction in my film, I plan for the alien character in my film to wear this shirt. On the front of this shirt I painted a little rocket, some stars, and the planet Uranus. I kept to a space theme for this shirt. For the second shirt I made a little ghost embellishment on the back and on the front painted some gravestones and spooky eyes. For this shirt I wanted the theme to be undead and spooky. The character that is going to wear this shirt is the character that is turning into a zombie.

I also bought an old leather jacket from the thrift store. I have not yet begun experimenting using the paint on it but I am very keen to try it out and see what happens. It could work out wonderfully and be perfect for my film or fail miserably. If it does work out I think this will be what my main zombie will wear. I am thinking about doing drips on the back and really bright designs on the front. 

(Images authors own)