Fiction Adaptation Unit- Filming and critique of footage.

Today I collected the footage for my Fiction Adaptation Film. Unfortunately I came across several problems on shooting day, but managed to salvage my project. Although it is nowhere near as good-looking as I originally intended, due to my preparation and ability to think on the spot, I managed to at least collect the footage I wanted which would tell a cohesive story that could hopefully be understood by those watching.

Here is a collection of stills from the footage I took. This footage would be used in the film to symbolize the present day, in which the character suffers with his thoughts of the Army.

A shot of Andy's character which changes focus from him to the kettle in the background.

Andy's character about to dispose of the letter from the Russian Army.

Andy snapping into a flash-forward. (Pulling shot.)

Macro shot of the kettle switch turned on.

Andy moving from one side of the kitchen to the other.

There are some positives and negatives about the footage I have collected- both personal and technical. The more technical problems I encountered was that the room we were filming in was very dark. At the time I chose my set, I believed the lighting that was already in the room would be sufficient enough- and to the naked eye it is.

However, when it came to actually uploading the footage onto my computer, I noticed severe noise increase due to the darkness. A way in which this could have been combated and avoided would have been if I have acquired a lighting kit. 

Having a lighting kit would have allowed me to also separate Andy from the background and make him stand out as a character. In the past when the idea of making a character "stand out" was explained, I didn't really understand what people were talking about. For some reason, whilst reviewing this footage however, something clicked and my first reaction was that a certain kind of lighting set-up could have been used in order to make certain parts of Andy stand out against his dark backgrounds.

However, there is the logistical problems of transporting a lighting kit from the studios to the set, and since this is over an hours journey by bus, with a 20 minute walk, I was quite hesitant about carrying a heavy lighting kit on my back.

Something else I also noticed was that the shot of Andy going into a flash-foward which was a pulling shot- didn't look too great. The reason for this was because it took two pairs of hands to pull the shot off- my own, and my cameraman Tim's. With two sets of hands on the camera, it became quite unsteady, and as a result, the footage looks a little strange. 

I will attempt pulling shots such as this one with an actual plate and pulling device in the future to ensure a much safer, consistent movement.

Something I am very pleased with is the way in which the set looks. The run-down look of the kitchen along with the monotone colours and lack of light in certain areas was something I was definitely thinking about when I chose to film there. In editing, I hope to add a colour filter that was make the area look even colder and more uncomfortable, which is the general feeling I am after.