I.
This is the first attempt in changing some insignificant scenes, but preserving most parts of the original script. (I got rid of the very first scene of them trying to decide whose drawing is the best one and I eliminated the scene in which they were impersonating movie characters, but I integrated a small part from it into the next shot)
II.
This was the second or the third time, which happened after me and Ibrahim met up and tried to plan everything way better and have some of the technical things explained (as framing, lighting, mise-en-scene), considering the prior day, which was useless in terms of footage and audio, but a good practice and motivation for us two to work harder on this drama. Therefore, we discussed that is better to have 2 scenes in 1 and trying somehow to combine them, either in terms of narrative or editing.
III.
The last time I had to change the script was after Lee, the one who should play Malloy in the drama, confessed us that he is not feeling too comfortable being filmed and that acting is not really for him, but that he thought to try and help us with his input, since we didn't have too much luck with the casting. However, he only mentioned this after me and Ibrahim have already done the paper work and to me, this only sounded like he has given up, seeing that we needed to work way harder then he probably reckoned in the beginning.
In this case, I had to make Malloy an off-screen character, who would only have voice-overs and just a few parts of his body, such as arms or feet, to be shown in the frame in order to give the impression of a human-being, not of a ghost or an imaginary friend. I wanted the friendship between him and Asher to have a sense of reality. Moreover, I had to make drastic changes regarding the whole script, especially the descriptive parts, trying to make the script simpler and less complex, speaking of the variety of shots and the usage of lighting.
Simultaneously, I produced a shot list, which was changed a few times as well, based on the script format, and as a final addition, a script support, which would've allowed us to know how to frame and shot each scene properly.
I believe that half way the shot list was changed to be suitable for the newest script form, but we've got the notification from Lee and basically, I had to stop and try to find a way of changing the entire script (still based on the current idea) or to start anew and have a fresh idea (which I did).
Besides this, I tried to find more meaning in the story and I tried to transmit the answers visually, through mise-en-scene elements and by creating a deeper connection and interpretation of the characters. Therefore, I wrote an extra scheme referring to what should we consider and focus on more.
Regarding mine and Ibrahim's meeting when we had to plan everything properly, he drew a storyboard based on how we wanted the shots to look like, while we were discussing the narrative that took form of the final script seen above.
The first day of shooting went pretty well and the footage could've been used promptly, along with bits of the recorded audio. We chose to film both street scenes that day, without getting confused further on and encountering complications with the time.
The second day had been allocated to the indoor scenes, which we tried to firstly have in a Cafe, but because there were some people constructing, the sound was guaranteed to be unusable. Therefore, on the same day, we moved to the building where Lee is staying, as there is a room designed as a rest area, with armchairs, pool tables, TV and a couch, and there, me and Ibrahim tried our best to set up the lights, the cameras and the microphones. However, after viewing the footage, I noticed that the shadows were all over the place (lounge footage) and the close-ups (cafe footage) had good angles, but either the objects were out of focus or the subjects' performance wasn't that good.
Because of this inconvenient, we decided to re-shoot the interior scenes again, now that we were better prepared and we knew what we need to do precisely. Yet, after Ibrahim suggested this in the group chat and I recommended for Jake and Lee to switch roles, as I found their real personalities closer to the characters' ones and with this, the things would've been easier for them too, we've got Lee telling us what I've briefly mentioned above.
Speaking of directing, I presume that I've done my job properly, explaining to Jake and Lee how I want them to interact with each other, but also with the camera. There were times when I would have a small headache, since I believe that we all were slightly tired and no one could concentrate properly, especially in terms of acting and arranging props/setting.
Nevertheless, me and Ibrahim understood each other greatly with reference to what types of shots to have, what camera angles and positions to use, about lighting set up and settings. Moreover, sometimes he would also direct the two actors regarding their expressions or performance.
To conclude, even though the things got how they've got, I do believe that we worked hard in trying to complete this task in a proper way, although we maybe put too much effort and ambition into this drama from the very beginning. It was our very first drama and we still tried to reach a high level, being at the same time enthusiastic and having fun producing it.
Maybe it just wasn't meant to be, but I'm not sad, since I know we've worked ourselves a lot and some of us have been really passionate and committed.
SCREENSHOTS OF THE FOOTAGE
No comments:
Post a Comment