Editing An Action Sequence

Recently I started editing my coursework although having not finished filming my complete project. I decided to look for editing techniques and came across this video on a channel that I am subscribed to. I thought that the ideas and techniques that he uses in the video were very interesting and have definitely taken them to mind in regards to the editing of my own film.

Filming Day One

Today I finally started filming my media coursework! We worked for around an hour to prepare make-up and costume, finally using the elf ears that I ordered over two months ago. The instructions on the back to apply the ears were in German which was amusing for us all to translate but the images helped. We had to trim the ears to fit each of my actresses ears and then blended them with their actual ears with foundation so that they looked natural. The use of the prosthetics was extremely effective overall and I will really please with the outcome.

Scouting The Local Woods

So recently I decided to journey they exceptionally long distance of about ten minutes down the road to the local woods. I hadn't really considered filming in them because I had never really explored them thoroughly due to restricted paths I had taken whilst horse-riding. Therefore I decided over the weekend that I would explore the woods and see if they would be an interesting filming location after my response from Windsor Great Park.

Although it was snowing the whole time that we were walking through the woods - meaning it was extremely cold - I got some good shots of the woods and came to the conclusion that they might work better than Windsor Great Park due to the greater mass collection of trees.

After this I decided to film most if not all of my coursework in this location after I discovered not only a hill that would be excellent for the beginning when Sienna is being chased but also a collection of trees which would be good to use when the audience first meet the Woodland Queen.

Meeting With The Cast

Recently I met with my cast to go through the costumes and script. It was very useful as I got to get my cast together although one could not make it. We went through the entire script, talking about how the characters must speak and act, as well as the design of the characters. We worked briefly on the make-up and costume of the Woodland Queen but mainly focused on the character of Melodie, styling the actress's hair into an elvish/medieval style and experimenting with a collection of clothing which together made the desired effect

Filming Issue #1

Recently I have been planning to film for at least a month or more. Due to family issues, my cast being available at different times as well as being ill, in hospital or working, and bizarre weather conditions I had to postpone and reorganise different days for filming.

A few weeks back I made a final decision of filming on Sunday 12 February. However, a friend was taken to hospital who was set to act on the week that I was set to film just after another had to cancel. I was left with only two actresses and one could only make the morning due to other arrangements later on in the day. My cast was so limited that I had to completely recast the roles.

Windsor Great Park

Recently I have been looking for an interesting filming location. Director Terry Hall suggested that I looked at locations such as Windsor Great Park which has been used for fantasy films such as 'The Huntsmen: Winter's War', 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part One and Two', 'Snow White and The Huntsmen' and 'Cinderella'.

During the visit to the Great Park I was constantly thinking about how it might work as a location for my short film, prompting me to get in contact with one of the park wardens to inquire whether I would be able to film there. This was due to the restrictions of the park, stating that the acts that required written permission in the park included 'taking photographs or moving pictures for commercial purposes'. Although my coursework is not commercial I felt that I would have to write in to make sure that all was ok.

I received a response a few days afterwards as the following:

"Thank you for your email. I am afraid that there is a problem with your request in that we do not allow perceived acts of violence or real / fake weapons to be used as part of this kind of filming in Windsor Great Park. 

I am happy to consider a new request if you are able to rewrite the scene or alternatively you may want to explore other similar locations such as Burnham Beeches or Black Park and contacting them to see if filming will be possible. 

We wish you well with your project." 

Due to this I decided that perhaps I should look at different locations instead of deciding to definitely film in the Great Park.

Order of Filming

Whilst planning for my filming on Sunday I realised that due to a restricted filming period I would have to reorganise the order that I filmed so that I can film in desired time of day.

In Scene One I intend the scene to be set during the day. Sienna's character sprints away in attempt to loose Melodie who is pursuing her. She falls and is caught. Scene Two is set at dusk and starts with Sienna being tied to a tree whilst Melodie sleeps in a makeshift camp in the woods. Sienna manages to remove the gag from her mouth and they converse. Scene Three is set in the day when Melodie walks with Sienna to a formation of trees where the Woodland Queen is and hands Sienna over as a prisoner.Scene Four is set in the day. Sienna is tied against a tree, bloodied and wounded. Melodie is also tied up nearby and the half-sisters fight. Scene Five is also set in the day. Melodie stands before the Woodland Queen who breaks her nose. Scene Six is set in the afternoon. Sienna wriggles free from her bonds. She approaches Melodie who is still tied up with a broken nose and bloody lip. Sienna unties Melodie's ropes and they create a plan to overthrow the Woodland Queen. Scene Seven is set at dusk.

Therefore I would have to film the scenes in this order:

Day: Scene One, Scene Three,  Scene Four,  Scene Five
Afternoon: Scene Six
Dusk: Scene Two, Scene Seven

Risk Assessment

Hazard	Persons who may be harmed	Risk controls already in place	Risks Assessment
wet/marshy ground	actors and crew	sensible shoes	5/10
camera equipment being damaged	n/a	bags and somewhere to put it down	1/10
weather being bad/wet/snow	actors and crew	appropriate clothing	5/10
dogs/passers by	dogs/passers by	make sure we use an area where there aren’t many people	4/10
tripping on uneven ground	actors and crew	take care where we’re walking	5/10
damage to plants/wildlife	n/a	keep to the main paths	2/10
actor being ill	actors and crew	mobile phone/everyone’s contacts available	5/10
actor forgetting lines	n/a	send cast the script	7/10
Camera running out of battery	n/a	charging the battery before filming/spare?	5/10

Costume Design (Alexander McQueen)

Before speaking to director Terry Hall, I had already designed the medieval-like costume of the Woodland Queen with the help of the actress playing her character. The Woodland Queen's character was loosely based (design wise) off of Morgana in BBC's Merlin being garbed entirely in black with reckless dark hair. Her costume consists of numerous garments collected together to create a rugged, torn and weatherworn look with ragged skirts to emphasise how long she has been out in the wilderness.

During my conversation with Terry Hall, I explained the costume of the the Woodland Queen and was relieved that the design seemed to be approved by Terry Hall. He then recommended that I take a look at the costume design of Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty collection. The designer commented that he had "always loved the mechanics of nature" and this was definitely a large part of my own inspiration for the clothing of the nymphs and Sienna. McQueen also stated that his collections were inspired by the " ideal of the noble savage living in harmony with the natural world" which links to how the nymphs in my short film are presented as the other and could be interpreted as the savages living in the natural human world. This definitely added to the inspiration for the costume design of the characters in my short-film.

After having looked at the Savage Beauty collection, I decided to focus on what I want the characters to look like in order to design their costumes properly.