Almost a week after production started, it was time for our third production day.
PRODUCTION DAY 3
Upon arrival we discovered that the location had changed again since out last production day. The company had moved some furniture around and we were not allowed to move it back. We quickly came up with a solution to this. All we had to do was reshoot our wide shots for scene 7, as you couldn't tell were the furniture was in our close ups and additional shots. This was not ideal as we were already behind schedule but we had no other choice.
Once this was solved we moved on to redressing the office and storage room. Unfortunately we couldn't keep everything set up during the week so we needed to do it all again. We had taken lots of pictures during the second production day so we had good references for the posters, props and boxes.
Our actors arrived on time (we had asked Sophie to come in later as we didn't need her for the start of the day), and once they had settled in I ran them through the changes to the day. We had to shoot scenes 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, & 12, so we had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.
We began by filming the second half of scene 7 with Craig in it as Frank. I ran the actors through the scene, blocking it out with them and then rehearsing it. Once everyone was happy we began shooting the scene starting with all of the wide shots. We then moved into the close ups and additional shots. It was at this point that the actors highlighted an issue with part of the scene. I was able to resolve this issue and we carried on filming.
When we were happy with the coverage we had we continued by filming scene 9 as it takes place in the same location and uses the same two actors. Again I started by blocking through the scene with Nik and Craig and then they rehearsed it a couple of times. Once we were all happy, we began filming. During filming, Sophie arrived so Ellie went to get her ready so we could continue into scenes with her without having to pause for too long.
Once scenes 7 & 9 were wrapped, we filmed scene 8 that had all three cast members in. During the blocking it became clear that part of the scene wasn't going to work at all, so I had to come up with something else. Originally the toy laser gun was meant to fall out of Bobbie's pocket and onto the floor whilst she was hiding. We didn't have a way of doing that. It's something we forgot to plan for, but luckily we were able to come up with an alternative that still worked well for the story. Once this was sorted, we rehearsed it and carried on filming. We also made time to reshoot the wide shots for the beginning of scene 7.
After completing scenes 7, 8, & 9 the office location was wrapped and de-rigged. By doing it at this point, we saved ourselves some time at the end of the day.
We had a break and then continued filming by moving onto scene 12. This is the final scene of the film, and was the last scene we needed Craig for. As with all other scenes I began by blocking through the scenes with the actors, and then they rehearsed it. Once everyone was happy we began filming starting with the wide shots and then moving in for the close ups and additional coverage. For this scene we used George, a student on the course, for a minor character role. He did a very good job and took direction well. Whilst filming this scene we had a section where Craig had to drop a box of apples. I had the idea to shoot this part with two cameras so we could get two angles of it at the same time. This saved us having to reset the box twice as many times.
Once we'd wrapped scene 12, we sent Craig on his way and continued by filming scenes 3 & 4. Because we were running very behind, I decided to cut scene 3 down from 4 shots to one shot. We shot the scene in one shot on a stabilised camera. Fingers crossed it works out in the edit and we don't need anymore coverage for that scene. We then shot scene 4, which was a simple three camera set up so we were able to get through it quickly. Finally we shot scene 10, and all we had left was scene 1 which we could do without the actors so we saved it until last.
As we ended up saving some time filming scenes 3 & 4, we went back and reshot some stuff from scene 2, as when we reviewed the footage during the week, there were some extra angles we wanted to get.
We managed to wrap pretty much on time, but it ended up being a late finish for the crew because we had a lot of de-rigging to do. We did however save some time because we de-rigged the office earlier in the day, and whilst we were filming outside we had people de-rigging the storage room.
Overall I am happy with how the final production day went. Although we had to rush a few things, I think we still got enough coverage and good performances to fill the edit with. I'm looking forward to editing this film together, and I'm very glad the production days are out of the way.
Here are some behind the scenes photos from production day 3:
PRODUCTION DAY 3
Upon arrival we discovered that the location had changed again since out last production day. The company had moved some furniture around and we were not allowed to move it back. We quickly came up with a solution to this. All we had to do was reshoot our wide shots for scene 7, as you couldn't tell were the furniture was in our close ups and additional shots. This was not ideal as we were already behind schedule but we had no other choice.
Once this was solved we moved on to redressing the office and storage room. Unfortunately we couldn't keep everything set up during the week so we needed to do it all again. We had taken lots of pictures during the second production day so we had good references for the posters, props and boxes.
Our actors arrived on time (we had asked Sophie to come in later as we didn't need her for the start of the day), and once they had settled in I ran them through the changes to the day. We had to shoot scenes 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, & 12, so we had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.
We began by filming the second half of scene 7 with Craig in it as Frank. I ran the actors through the scene, blocking it out with them and then rehearsing it. Once everyone was happy we began shooting the scene starting with all of the wide shots. We then moved into the close ups and additional shots. It was at this point that the actors highlighted an issue with part of the scene. I was able to resolve this issue and we carried on filming.
When we were happy with the coverage we had we continued by filming scene 9 as it takes place in the same location and uses the same two actors. Again I started by blocking through the scene with Nik and Craig and then they rehearsed it a couple of times. Once we were all happy, we began filming. During filming, Sophie arrived so Ellie went to get her ready so we could continue into scenes with her without having to pause for too long.
Once scenes 7 & 9 were wrapped, we filmed scene 8 that had all three cast members in. During the blocking it became clear that part of the scene wasn't going to work at all, so I had to come up with something else. Originally the toy laser gun was meant to fall out of Bobbie's pocket and onto the floor whilst she was hiding. We didn't have a way of doing that. It's something we forgot to plan for, but luckily we were able to come up with an alternative that still worked well for the story. Once this was sorted, we rehearsed it and carried on filming. We also made time to reshoot the wide shots for the beginning of scene 7.
After completing scenes 7, 8, & 9 the office location was wrapped and de-rigged. By doing it at this point, we saved ourselves some time at the end of the day.
We had a break and then continued filming by moving onto scene 12. This is the final scene of the film, and was the last scene we needed Craig for. As with all other scenes I began by blocking through the scenes with the actors, and then they rehearsed it. Once everyone was happy we began filming starting with the wide shots and then moving in for the close ups and additional coverage. For this scene we used George, a student on the course, for a minor character role. He did a very good job and took direction well. Whilst filming this scene we had a section where Craig had to drop a box of apples. I had the idea to shoot this part with two cameras so we could get two angles of it at the same time. This saved us having to reset the box twice as many times.
Once we'd wrapped scene 12, we sent Craig on his way and continued by filming scenes 3 & 4. Because we were running very behind, I decided to cut scene 3 down from 4 shots to one shot. We shot the scene in one shot on a stabilised camera. Fingers crossed it works out in the edit and we don't need anymore coverage for that scene. We then shot scene 4, which was a simple three camera set up so we were able to get through it quickly. Finally we shot scene 10, and all we had left was scene 1 which we could do without the actors so we saved it until last.
As we ended up saving some time filming scenes 3 & 4, we went back and reshot some stuff from scene 2, as when we reviewed the footage during the week, there were some extra angles we wanted to get.
We managed to wrap pretty much on time, but it ended up being a late finish for the crew because we had a lot of de-rigging to do. We did however save some time because we de-rigged the office earlier in the day, and whilst we were filming outside we had people de-rigging the storage room.
Overall I am happy with how the final production day went. Although we had to rush a few things, I think we still got enough coverage and good performances to fill the edit with. I'm looking forward to editing this film together, and I'm very glad the production days are out of the way.
Here are some behind the scenes photos from production day 3:
