Continuing to Film

At the start of the day we learned that we may not be able to get ahold of the camera we used last time we filmed, but was also integral and key to the film. I learned that it is not good to rely so heavily on a prop that we do not have access to 100% of the time, as it basically falls down to coincidence whether we could film it or not. Fortunately, we were able to obtain it.

When we began filming again, we noticed we were low on battery and production was immediately put on hold so that we could charge the camera's battery. We learned there and then that it was worth checking the camera's battery way before actually filming, and ensuring to put it on charge, as it could have easily charged overnight and saved us all some hassle. We summarised we had to let it charge for at least 1 and a half hours, and since we had to hand the camera back at 4 in the evening, our time was limited. We sat down and went into some more detail about the scenes we would film. In the previous day we had many many shots and takes of each scene, and it was not something we could repeat with the levels of battery we were going to film with. We brought up a set of rules, to turn the camera off after each shot and only take each scene a maximum of 3 times, so we needed everything we could to be perfect. It didn't start off too well, many taxis were parked outside and there were lots of pedestrians. We asked some taxis to temporarily relocate and also waited for pedestrians to move before we started filming some scenes, picking up where we left off the next day.

When we got to Hyde Park there were some more discussions about possible good shots, although I insisted we stick to the plan we had so we don't run off on ideas we -might- use, and instead get all the footage we definitely need before the camera runs out of battery or we need to head back. Any ideas that were quick and easy to film were done though, if they contributed a level of cinematic value.

In some shots I forgot to take off the lens cap, meaning we could not use any shots where the lens would point at the camera. It was a silly mistake to make, but it does reinforce that even silly mistakes like this can have a big impact on what footage you could use without purposely utilizing clips with a continuity error.

In the end we got all the footage we wanted, though perhaps not as in detail and as well executed as we had obtained on the first day, where we had more time, as much battery as we wanted with on-scene access to a charger, and no need to carry the equipment round as much.


When we watched films at the crit I noticed in comparison to the other films, we had used a lot more shots.

The primary feedback we got was that in the shot at the end, we needed to anchor some meaning to the fact that the only other person in the film was in fact a ghost of the main character's former protagonists best friend. I agree upon reflection that not enough was done with what footage we had to portray it the way we intended, although we were quite constricted for time when filming. I plan to introduce some footage or pictures of us in a similar way to the appropriately named 'Marvel style intro' at the start so that they are interpreted as a flashback and the audience becomes aware of what the character is thinking in the shot, and can establish that the other character we see in the vanish in the shot is the same deceased person we saw in the flashbacks.