Film Post Mortem

I handed my short film assignment in and what a mission it was! I am not so strong at editing and I have pretty much never colour graded film footage in my entire life! To top it off, it has been two years since I have used Pro Tools for sound.

I managed to attend one and a bit DaVinci tutorial classes. I did not find the software difficult to use at all, I did however, find the actual colour grading difficult. A lot of the time I doubted whether all the shots matched in colour within the same scene. I found that even having a break from the screen and looking at something else did not help me much. Instead, I would get one of my class mates to look at it and give me advice on it. I think I need much more practice with colour grading but I do not think I did too bad at it in the end.

I also need much more practice with editing although I did learn a few things along the way. I learned that having somebody on continuity is a brilliant idea. This ensures that the actor moves and says things in the same direction or manner throughout each shot of the same scene which makes it easier to put the shots together. I had a few issues trying to put shots together because the movement from my actor was different or they had a hand under their chin in the close up but not in the wide shot so things just did not match. I also learned that cutting shots on movement made the scene look seamless as long as the two shots were cut together at the right place. I realised once I got into the edit that I needed a few more ahots than I had but unfortunately, I was not in a position to go and film some pick ups. This meant I had to put my scenes together with the shots I had, which was challenging to say the least!

Some of the sound recorded for my film was not ideal at all. Unfortunately, I was almost completely missing my sound for an entire scene and some of it was a little quiet. I decided to leave my sound edit until last which became a disadvantage because when I tried to import my OMF sound file, Pro Tools would not bring it in properly so all of my sound clips showed up in the right place but without any waveforms meaning my aound clips were empty. It did not seem to make a difference no matter what options I changed every time I imported the sound files into Pro Tools. I spent a number of hours trying to get Pro Tools to work but in the end I had no choice but to render my final film out with the raw sound on it. Some of the sound was so loud it pierced your ears when listening to it and then there was sound that was at the opposite end of the scale that was almost non existent. This was most disappointing for me.

Even though the sound is not great, I still plan to edit it until I am happy with it. I enjoyed the whole process of making my short film from script to screen and I have learned a lot along the way. There are possibly a few other tweaks that I could make to my short film but I will look at that when I edit the sound. As the academic year comes to an end, I guess it is time to look towards my future prospects and decide which direction I want to take my career in!

Busy Times!!!!

This past 40 days has been an extremely busy time. There have been at least 10 films or trailers shot in this time. I have been the caterer on most of these shoots but have also produced a few.

I have produced films for four of my class mates short films, have helped source items - props, costumes and art department items, have scouted for locations and gained permission for them and have generally given a hand to all of my class mates whenever possible.

I have enjoyed helping out on so many different films and trailers and have faced many challenges due to the diversity of all of these projects. Each project comes with it's own set of demands and problems that are unique to that specific project. Working on all of these different proje ts has definitely strengthened my skills as a Producer and has helped me to become a better problem solver.

I have done little bits of editing here and there in between all the other work I have been doing. It seems to be going alright but I am a little worried about this grading thing. The only grading I have ever done was on my cinematography reel and we are learning how to use DaVinci Resolve at the moment to do the colour grade on our final films. DaVinci doesn't seem to look too scary but I guess I am a wee bit nervous because I want my film to look good once it is done.

Well, we are on the home stretch now..... only two more days of filming left for our final class mate and let's get this short film edited, colour graded and sound sorted!!!!!

Filming, Directing and Everything in Between!

Well, I did it! I filmed my short film! And what an experience it has been! On the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th of September, I filmed my end of year short film. I had an amazing time and enjoyed every moment of it - good and bad.

I spent the two weeks before my shoot preparing everything for the film. Neville Hayes from E. Hayes & Sons loaned me his Chev Camaro SS for my film. He had his van driver pick the car up and drop it off to my location. He left it there (with the keys in it) and just told me to text when I wanted it picked up! I was totally amazed by this as it is an expensive car and someone had spent a lot of time and money on it to restore it to the condition it is in. So, for the owner to leave it with virtual strangers was amazing and I am really thankful for their help!

I also went to the Pawn Shop to ask if I would be able to use their jewellery department to film in and the manager Keith Kennedy said I could use their jewellery department but also recommemded I go and ask his friend Ashley Skelt who owned Skelts Jewellers. I called in to Skelts Jewellers and spoke with Ashley (who knew I was coming because Keith had called him to let him know) and he was more than happy for me to use his shop to film my scene in. He even offered to give me a ring to use but unfortunately because I had another scene that had the ring shown in it at another location, I was unable to use one of Skelts rings. I did, however, get a shot of the outside of the shop (with the shop name and signage on it) to use as an establishing shot and also to provide a little advertising for Skelts by using this shot in my film.

So..... the things that didn't go to plan........The first thing that happened was that the owner of the house I was using (including the garage) had left his keys for the garage in his mate's car and the night before (at like 11.30pm) we were due to start shooting, he texted his mate to ask for his keys and his mate replied with, "sorry I am in Te Anau". This meant no access to the garage and so half of the shots we intended on doing on the first shooting day were meant to be done in the garage. I spoke to my 1st AD and we rescheduled in the hope we could get the keys for the garage the next day. Unfortunately, rescheduling meant that instead of only filming for three days, we had to film for four days!

Neville Hayes also forgot what time and day he was meant to loan me his car. This held my shoot up a little but he was very apologetic and explained it had been a really busy time for him so it had slipped his mind. That was all the main issues we had on my shoot!

I spent the first day standing back a little and watching Dan direct the actors. Dan gave me heaps of opportunities, guidance and advice on how being a Director works. By the end of my shoot, I was in the swing of things and was confident with the role of the Director. I am glad I made the decision to co-direct because I really had no idea what I was doing and this gave me the chance to learn and build some confidence in the role.

All in all my shoot went well and I am happy with what I have done so far! I am glad I chose the crew I had because they had my back the whole way and they were very strong in their areas. I am now getting into editing as well as catering and producing my other class mates film projects. I am only producing a couple but I am catering nearly everyone elses films from here on in which I don't mind because it is not a hugely stressful or a time consuming job plus I have my partner to help me with it too.

This past weekend I have completed some internship hours with SIT Productions. It has been a fun experience and interesting so far and I have been helping with the art department. I have only got another five hours left to complete for my internship paper! Well, everything is full on and busy but I am loving it all the same and onwards and upwards we go!!!!!

One Week To Go....... Agggghhhhh!!!!!

One week until I shoot my short film!!!! I still have a few things to organise but things are slowly coming together..... I hope! This past week I have been busy yet again organising things for my shoot.

I have decided to share the directing role on my short film because I am not really interested in directing as a career. Also, it's a huge work load to produce and direct at the same time, so I wanted to cut some of my work load down as well. I want to co-direct because I still want to be able to have an input on how the actors talk and move. I wrote the script and have a vision of how the characters act and how certain dialogue should be said. I have been working with my Co-Director for the last few weeks to bring him up to speed and to essentially get him into my head so that he understands how I would like my short film to look and feel. So far, it seems to be working great!

I took my Co-Director and DOP to my main location, so that they were able to see where we would be filming and how different shots could work. The location that I am using is perfect as there is not much art direction needed at all. While we were there we took some photos of parts of the location that we will use for filming. We discussed the kind of lighting that we will be using and how we will get the actors to move around the space. Attached to this post are some photos of a couple spaces within the location that we will use for filming.

I have managed to find a Chev to use in my film! Neville Hayes from E. Hayes & Sons has one in his shop and when I called him about it, he told me that getting cars out of the shop is difficult but he had one at home that I could use!!!! I am going to see him this week with my schedule so he knows when him and his car are needed. Super stoked about this!!!!

I am also going into the Pawn Shop to talk to the manager about using part of his shop for filming the jewellery shop scene in my script. I am hoping that he will give me permission to use his shop.

I have cast one of my male characters and I am just waiting to hear back from someone about the main male role that I have left to cast. Fingers croased he says yes. So, I only have one character left to cast and that will all be sorted.

The plan for this week is to get some rehearsal time in with all my actors, confirm my actors, confirm the shooting schedule and get call sheets done, organising transport for gear, cast and crew, to confirm my last locations and to sort out catering for my shoot - my partner will be doing the catering for me.

I am nearly there so fingers croased this week goes to plan!!!!! I am planning on inviting my whole crew and cast to have dinner at my house the night before we start shooting to get everyone to meet each other before we film and as a tjank you to them all for being involved in my shoot. I hope this will also boost the morale of my cast and crew before we shoot, in the hopes morale will stay high and my shoot will run smoothly!!!!! Aw here we go!!!!

Shooting Dates Confirmed!!!!!

I have my shooting dates confirmed!!!!! Our entire class has now got their shooting dates and we will be filming back to back for 40 days straight!!!!! Aaaagggghhhhh!!!!! In 15 days I will be starting to shoot my short film and I have lots to get confirmed and done in the next 15 days.

I still need to find my two male actors, confirm two locations and get together some costume and art direction things. I have put together a good team to work on my film though and am working to get everything confirmed and sorted within the next two weeks.

Myself and two class mates went on a location scout during the week to track down locations we need fornour projects. I am from Invercargill (born and bred) and they are from the North Island, so I know my way around Invercargill well and was able to take them around places that I knew of, that possibly fitted the description of locations that they gave me. It was also helpful for myself to find my own locations.

This weekend, I have been to my main location to discuss with the owner exactly what I need at the location and to discuss with him what I will be doing there. It probably helps that he is an old friend of mine so he has been very accomodating but in saying that, I do not want to be taking advantage of that and I endeavour to be respectful and as undisruptive to his home life as I can possibly be. As for my other two locations, I need to confirm a playground/park that I want to use - I have a few to choose from but I think I need to take my DOP to have a look at these to pick the best one for the shots we need. The other location is a jeweller's and I think I may need to fake this somewhere else some how. (I will add photos of all locations in my next blog entry.)

As for my actors, I have the main female and the two children confirmed but the two male leads are freaking me out! It is so hard to find the kind of people I am looking for but I may just have to go with two actors that may not necessarily be exactly what I want and compromise to get two male actors.

I need either a '55 or '57 Chevrolet Bel Air and I have a couple of possible options but need to confirm them still. I have a couple of other art direction things almost sorted - they just need to be confirmed this week.

I will be meeting with my DOP and Co-Director this week to discuss the cinematography, shots and vision of the project and I will also be meeting with my 1st AD to sort out scheduling and call sheets, shot lists etc. Once I have spoken with my DOP and Co-Director, I will sit down and discuss final art direction with my Art Director.

This week, I also need to submit a director's manifesto, storyboards, budget, camera and lighting schematics and risk assessment forms (and at this point, I may have left something off this list but will check the descriptor again!!!!) for my project as an assignment.

I am very busy this week and I am determined not to let the stress get to me! As I commented earlier, I have chosen a very good team and I think that this will help lessen my stress significantly! Awwww here it goes!!!!! LET'S GO FILMING!!!!!

Suspicions! BDM331: Digital Video

'Suspicions' is a short film aimed at people aged 25 to 35 years old. The genre of the film is drama. I originally wrote this script for screen writing class last year and I rewrote the script this year. After some feedback, I further edited the script and have now submitted it to my tutor.

'Suspicions' is about a man named Tony whose life is perfect. He has his loyal best friend who he has known since kindergarten and he is about to ask his high school sweetheart to take the next step with him and marry him. Unfortunately, things start to happen that are just not the norm - lies, secrets and deceit. He's never had trust issues with his best friend and his partner but suddenly it seems that there might be a cause for concern. Tony needs to work out whether there is a reasonable explanation for all this or whether there is something unsavoury going on.

The film is a New Zealand film that shows aspects of the bogan culture of New Zealand. The characters are upper class bogans - they come from bogan backgrounds which include cars, heavy metal and motorsport. They are not stereotypical bogans though, they are well respected members of the community and are well spoken and dressed.

I think I am going to have issues casting my two main male characters as after holding the casting call earlier in the year, it appears that Invercargill has an age gap/shortage in actors. This shortage is exactly the age range of the two actors that I need to cast. I think I may need to walk the streets and find some talent by approaching people. The look of my actors matters a lot to get the tone and feel of the film correct. I have a couple of friends that fit the parts but there is no way that they are keen to get in front of a camera. So, I guess my search will continue!

On the bright side of things, I may have found my female actor and I have my main location which is my friends house - it is an upmarket, modern house with modern new furniture which is exactly what I need. Slowly but surely, things are starting to come together.

Genre: Horror

As part of cinematography, we have been put into groups and given a specific genre to film a short film that cinematically adheres to the conventions of the genre. The members of my group are Corey Fuimaono and Matt Van Dorrestein and we are filming a short film idea that Matt came up with years ago and filmed with his friends. We plan on re-creating this film and are shooting a section of it each to fill the requirements of our brief.

Genre conventions to consider:

- POV shots let the audience see through the monster's eyes
- High and low camera angles to connotate fear and nightmares
- Handheld shots can make the audience disorientated
- ECU (extreme close up) shots to see the fear in the victim's face


Here is a link to a slide share by George Woodford, about horror genre conventions:
http://www.slideshare.net/marine18/horror-genre-conventions

We are planning to shoot the film in Queens Park and using Coronation Drive which runs right through the middle of the park and is lined with trees that look spooky and leafless which would set up the environment for a horror.

Coronation Drive, Queens Park

Here are some links to YouTube videos that discuss the conventions of the horror genre:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaHsEoZ3Gko

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zosPpJepok

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTgjqChqsJ4

We are filming this on the Blackmagic camera and I am a little nervous about doing this because it will be the first real time that I have used this camera but onwards and upwards and let's make a horror!!!!!

Script Post Mortem 27th April - 3rd May

This week in class we have read each others scripts and pulled them apart - post mortem time!!!!! Rat Race is the name of my short film ( I think I may have mentioned this in an earlier post). It is about a young boy at a funeral, who is meant to read a poem at the service for the dearly departed but instead ends up chasing a rat all over the cemetery because it steals his poem. The feedback that I received was good overall. I received good comments about my big print and the story. Rat Race was intended as a live action film but because I ended up giving the rat a name, everybody felt as though this script was written for an animation and I fully agree with this as well. By giving the rat a name it kind of became the rat's story (at the point that the rat was introduced) instead of the boy's story. All in all, I was happy with my script but could also see what could be changed to make it better.

We also did a session on writing scripts for the Rialto Channel 48 Hours Furious Filmmaking competition. We discussed how best to come up with script ideas and how to write a script to make the film compelling to the audience and most of all, the judges of the competition.

Things to remember for 48 Hours script writing:

- Observe the conventions of your genre
- Pick your model film(s)
- Identify key genre tropes (the skeleton of the genre)
- Don't fully copy tropes, just be aware of them
- Gimmicks are fine as long as they are backed up with substance
- Stinger (surprise) at the end of the film

These are all things to remember for the story and genre and the next list of things to remember is in relation to character:

- Character needs an objecive
- There needs to be an obstacle for the character that throws the character's objective out the window
- Antagonist: Can be either an inanimate object or person
- Character arc: What does the character give up or compromise/give up to find a sense of resolution

- Extra obstacles and challenges are needed for the character to progress through the story

This is my third year competing in the 48 Hours competition and also my third year in an animation team for the competition. Fingers crossed that everything goes well for the weekend and bring on the sleeplessness!!!!!

Shoot Week! Week: 13th April - 19th April

We started filming Beast of Fawkes this week! Our first shoot day was called off because of the atrocious Southland weather - rain, hail, snow, wind and just terribly yucky, crappy weather! The shoot was called off because of safety issues for the crew, cast and equipment. The second day went ahead as the weather was better and we shot what we had intended on shooting during the first day. The weather got better each day until the fifth day when it poured down again but we had not officially scheduled any shooting for that day anyway. 

We managed to get everything shot that we had intended on shooting during the three days that we had scheduled. Overall, I felt that the shoot went very well. We had a few minor hiccups like costume pieces getting left in town by accident and needing things that we had to send runners back to town to get for us. The reception in the location that we were shooting in had very limited or no cellphone coverage which made it difficult for communication between unit base (Speed Boat Club) and anybody that was in town. Somebody would either have to drive all the way out to unit base and then back to set or had to drive out of our location to somewhere that had cellphone reception. Other than these few issues, the whole crew worked very hard and nobody let the rest of the team down at all.

I feel privileged to be a part of this group and to be a part of this project as I have had quite a few positive experiences during this shoot week. Check out some photos that were taken on set!

Thai (played by Luke Page) lining up his shot

Aaron Askew - Gaffer Assistant

Krai (played by Gabby Mainland) getting make up done

Thai getting blood make up put on

Art Director, John Mellor makes some final adjustment to Krai's costume

Film crew at Sandy Point

Behind the scenes crew getting set up

Camera and sound teams getting ready to shoot

Krai in the protective tree 

 

Well, now all we have left is any cut aways or pick up shoots and all the green screen shooting to do. We still need to find a location to hang the huge portable green screen up in, so that we can shoot a cave scene and an interior spaceship scene. I can not wait to see the finished product and am so proud of the whole team for all the hard work that they have put in. Not one member has slacked and this year's project feels as if it is going much better than the project I was involved in last year! Different project, different people, different attitudes = different result!

Writing 'Rat Race' Week: 13th April - 19th April

I have named my non-dialogue script "Rat Race". I can see my script play out visually in my head but I have been having trouble forcing myself to sit down and write it. As I have commented in other posts, we have been filming the group project, so my head really has not been in a writing space.

I managed to lock myself in a room and write my script though and it came quite easily. I have written this script putting in most of the things that I have learned about 'Big Print'. I think it sounds pretty good (well, i hope it does because I have already submitted it) but I can guarantee that I will sit down and read my script and find things that I should have done better.

I wrote this script as it played out visually in my head and wrote done pretty much what the audience would see. I enjoyed writing this script because it was fun, quirky and amusing. The next thing to write is our tableplay script which is essentially a script involving two people and this means DIALOGUE!!!! Oh well, here it goes.....

Producer! Producer! Producer!

I decided that maybe it was worth me writing a post in relation to my Professional Practices paper because I have been using the skills that I have learned from last years projects and also the skills I learned interning on Human Traces. 

I used the dropbox application for all the administrative stuff for Beast of Fawkes which is something that I learned on Human Traces. Previous to Human Traces, I had only used dropbox to store photos from my phone. Dropbox allowed my production team and I, to update the same file and always have the newest version of the file available to any one of us. It also meant that we could access the files we needed from any computer in any location. This stopped files from being left (saved) on any old computer and not being easy to locate.

I also created a production booklet which had all the equipment, crew and cast information and also all the emergency addresses and contact numbers. This meant the crew could contact people in charge of specific equipment items or other crew members directly. The production booklet was introduced to me during Human Traces and also acted as a kind of inventory list for equipment as well.

I enjoy producing and like it when I get to put the things that I have learned into play. Beast of Fawkes has given me the opprtunity to use those skills. Every project is different and I enjoy learning new things with each project I do. I look forward to the next project that I get to woprk on!!!!!

Bloody Square Law Week: 13th April - 19th April

So, this bloody inverse square law is doing my head in! Every time I think I am close to working it out, I find something that makes me go back to the beginning to try and understand what it all means!!!! It's starting to drive me batty! It probably has not helped that we have been filming on location this week for our group project and I am absolutely knackered!

Anyways, I have found some more information about the inverse square law. If a light is say for example 1 metre away from the subject then we work out the lighting ratio and percentage like this: 1 metre squared  = 1x1=1 which makes the lighting ratio (fraction) 1/1, therefore, the light intensity is 100%. If you move the light back, however, it does not halve the light intensity but quarters it because 2 metres squared = 2x2=4 which makes the lighting ratio (fraction) 1/4 = 25%.

Here's a few links to videos on the inverse law and its application to cinematography:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GasmmsK6k84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saJSCGk7C_g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3aa-CJYhGU

It has been really hard to find a video or even photos that show the difference in light intensity over distance without the shutter speed or the aperture of the camera being changed. I managed to find two examples of images that show the difference in light intensity over distance out of everything that I have found during my research.

Examples of images showing the change in light intensity

Well, I really hope I am going down the right path with this topic and I hope I can teach my class mates something when I present all of my information to them.

Non-dialogue Week: 6th April - 12th April

As I have already stated in two of my other posts, I am super busy with the group project - Beast of Fawkes. I have done a tiny bit of work on my non-dialogue script. I have just been working out the details and the sequence of events that will happen in my film. I am finding writing this particular script easy to write because in the past when I was studying animation, all of my short films were non-dialogue. I am just hoping that I have taken in all the things I have learned in class about big print and applied that to my own piece.

I will hopefully find some time to work on my script next week and see if my story works, is coherent and well written. Only a couple weeks and the finished script is due! Eeeeekkkk!!!!!!

Scene 1

Inverse What? Week: 6th April - 12th April

I am sooooo busy with the group project at the moment that i have not had much time to do anything to do with cinematography. However, I have managed to do some more research on the inverse square law. As I have said previously, this topic is mind boggling but I think I am slowly coming to terms with it - I mean SLOWWWWLLLLYYYY!!!!!

The definition that I have found to describe the inverse square law and it's application to cinematography is: "The intensity of illumination is proportional to the inverse square of the distance from the light source."
The inverse square law applies to cinematography in relation to lighting and I have deciphered the above statement to mean that the inverse square law is a formula for the intensity of light over distance. This means that light becomes less intense the further away it is moved from the subject. That's as far as I have researched about it so far, although I have peeked at the next bit of research which is something to do with lighting ratios, so I guess that will have to be next week's mission. For now the inverse square law will have to wait while I go and be a producer, caterer, runner or whatever other position may need filled on set for our group project!

Light intensity

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Chaotic Madness Week: 6th April - 12th April

Well, what a week this has been! I have had many really late nights this week but I hopefully have everything sorted now (fingers crossed). I have been busy doing all the things that I put in my last blog that I needed to sort this week.

I finally got our Pledge Me project completed with rewards and information for submission to the Pledge Me co-ordinators. They will look through it and make sure that everything is in order, approve it and then I will be able to make the campaign go live after adding a few extra things to it! So, in a few days, I should be able to put up our crowd funding campaign and fingers crossed we reach our target.

I also created a website for Small Colossus Media. I used wix.com to create the site. It is a free website making site and is so simple to use. I used concept art from the project for the website.
Check it out at: http://smallcolossusmedia.wix.com/smallcolossusmedia

I have sorted out the catering menu and Tony, Iris and I will be sorting out the food and unit stuff for every day of the shoot. We have been given permission to use the Speed Boat Club rooms as unit base, where we can cook food and go back to eat under cover out of the weather. Food is such an expensive thing to buy, although we have come in under budget for the catering budget, so that's a bonus!

We have had the film crew out this week doing some test shoots and they have worked out how to film a few things. Oh, I forgot to mention that all of our crew is back after their internships!

Last but not least, Sarah and I worked together and worked out movement orders and logistical issues. We are pretty much ready to go film a movie! So, fingers crossed we have sorted everything and haven't forgotten anything! Let's make a movie!!!!!

Diffusing the Scene Week: 30th March - 5th April

This week in cinematography we did a class exercise in diffusion. We experimented with a small diffuse screen and then a large diffuse screen set up on the butterfly frame. We used a Rifa light as a backing light and a Fren-L as the key light. 

We started off with the small diffuse screen and had it an even distance between the subject and the key light. We did a take with the diffuse screen closer to the key light and then one closer to the subject. The further the diffuse screen was from the subject, the darker the footage appeared. We then pulled the key light closer and did the same experiments with the diffuse screen - putting the diffuse screen at an even distance between the key light and subject, then moving the diffuse closer to the light and then closer to the subject. Again the footage became darker when the diffuse screen was moved closer to the light. When the diffusion screen was closer, it acted as another light source because it became a medium  for transferring the original light source.

We took the small diffuse screen and put the large diffuse screen into position. We did the same experiments with the large diffuse as we did with the small diffuse.. When the light was at a further distance and the diffuse screen was closer to the light, the shadows were softer but when the diffuse was closer to the subject than the key light, the light was more intense but focused more in one spot. The diffuse in these experiments needed to be moved back from the subject to spread the light source and make the light softer. This makes the subject look more flattering. Here is an example (below) that I found on the internet, that shows the difference between harsh and soft light and how much more flattering soft light is compared to harsh light.

Example of harsh versus soft light

Here is the link to a YouTube video that I found that talks about diffusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z5Py1GHU9c 

I have been researching the inverse square law and it is frying my brain. It is such a confusing topic but I am determined to understand it and put the information into a presentation that is coherent for everybody to understand!

Big Print Week: 30th March - 5th April

BIG PRINT! So, this doesn't mean that the text needs to be a huge size instead it is the name we give the descriptive, action stuff that is written in a script. There are some rules that should be followed when writing 'Big Print'.

Big Print Rules:

- Remove anything that is implied back story and only write what the audience can actually see on screen.

- Describe all the specific action as you would see the shots play out in your own mind and don't gloss over whole sequences that are actually quite elaborate.The details of important moments are especially important.

- Write for good pacing. Make sure the script has the right pace the whole time - not too slow or too fast.

- Optimise the spacing and page layout and also fragment sentences for dramatic effect, where it is necessary.

- NO CAMERA DIRECTIONS!!!!!

We have our non-dialogue scripts due very soon, so learning these rules about big print has been helpful. My script has changed slightly in the last week or so - instead of the rat trying to steal the boy's ipod, the rat will be stealing the boy's poem that he has to read at the funeral. I plan on applying the 'Big Print' rules to my script and hopefully it will come out really good! Fingers crossed!

Oh Here it Goes! Week: 30th March - 5th April

This week has been an intense time. I have pulled in our 1st AD, Sarah to help me on the production team until our 2IC comes back. So, I guess I will write about my progress on the project so far.

I have sorted out getting two vans booked for us to use over the next two weeks, organised camera, lighting and vfx gear, got the key for the greenscreen studio for us to use as gear storage, had our budget finalised, confirmed and sorted out permission for our filming locations. I got our Production Assistant, Iris to put the logo on all our social media and do some other odd jobs for me - mainly administrative stuff. Iris has been amazing at carrying out any tasks I have given her.

We have filmed our Pledge Me video and it has been edited by the talented Corey Fuimaono. It is now my job to come up with rewards and put together our Pledge me campaign and finally put it live online! we also managed to put together a production pamphlet to give to people to explain our project to them. This came in handy when we went on material sourcing missions. I stayed at the tin shed (our home base) while different groups went to different areas of town sourcing materials. All the teams did a great job and we sourced a lot of utilisable materials.

So from here on in........ I have test shooting to organise for next week, a website to create, a catering menu to come up with, shopping and more shopping and logistical organisation to consider for our shoot week. Slowly but surely we will get there and I can't wait until the rest of our crew comes back!!!!!

THUMBS UP!