Editing

I have already put together a rough draft of the film. I think it is very important to get feedback and criticisms to see how I can improve on it so I have showed it to a number of people including my tutors. I have gotten some interesting feedback form my tutors which has encouraged me and inspired me. One of my tutors wrote notes down while watching the film of points he think could be improved and points that were good but could be improved further. This was incredibly helpful as it gave me another view and more ideas of how to take this film as far as I possibly could. Some of the pointers he had were to think about the type and consider the fonts I use very carefully.  In my film I had a brief scene which was of an alien spaceship I made out of plasticine, he really liked this and thought it was very effective and encouraged me to do a similar style clip for another part of the film. I had been thinking of doing this but wasn't sure if I should make it a priority but after hearing him say that I decided to definitely do it.

I used iMovie to edit this film and I know I should've used premier pro or some more advanced software but I didn't want to give myself the extra stress of figuring a new program out. I know my way around iMovie and I feel very confident in using it to create my film and make it look how I want.

I edited the clips so they would be faster as I thought that it would look more like they were being abducted it they were spinning fast. 

Behind the scenes

On my shoot days I had a friend record some of the behind the scenes for me. I asked him to do this so that I could have a visual reflection of the day and of the way I work. In the video clips you will see me directing the actors and setting up scenes. Shooting this film was a very hands on experience. I realized how many different details I was responsible for and had to be in control of. Some of these include having the actors be in the right positions, making sure they know their lines and know the tone of what they're supposed to be saying. Another detail I had to be aware and responsible for was the set up of the shots, the framing, and the details within the shots such as if I needed smoke, or to fix the lighting. 

I learned a lot from choosing to shoot with such a large cast. Usually I only have one or two models, but this time I had six models. I had to be responsible for everyone and making sure they knew what they were doing and wearing the right thing and had the right make up on for every scene. It was a little overwhelming at the beginning, as I did not realize how much I control I needed to have. Once I got to grips with being dictatorial over all of my cast things got done quicker, better, and we began to have a whole lot of fun while working. 

The following video is a collection of these behind the scenes videos put together by myself. The footage was taken by Conor Langton. 

Second shoot day

Todays shoot ran smoother than smooth. I had made a schedule of what scenes I would film at what time and where I'd need to be and what camera I will use for each. This helped the day go by with such ease unlike last week which felt a little chaotic.

My goal for this shoot day was to finish the shooting the scenes I hadn't yet done and try and reshoot a few scenes to try and get some different angels. One of the angels I thought would be really interesting to try and shoot from is a birds eye view. To try and achieve this I climbed on top of my shed and precariously held my camera above the actors below. This shot turned out to be very effective and looks good. One director who is known for using this type of shot is Quentin Tarantino. 

One of the main things aside from the photograph and the drawings on top of it that I need to focus on is the type. I need to choose a font that I think will best represent the film and its style. The font is almost like a logo and a logo is basically a brands symbol so I want to create something that is perfectly symbolic for my film and project.

screen shot taken from here

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.