We feel our shooting experience went well and resulted in getting a wide range of footage which was needed.
Having a wide range of footage allows us to edit easier as we are not limited on the amount of shots which should make our thriller opening more successful.
It also allows us to change our idea if necessary as we have added extra shots and footage to what was originally composed into our storyboard.
The first thing we had to decide on was when we were all able to film, as its important we were all there not only because we were all part of the story but also to contribute any more ideas to the storyboard. It took us a while to find a date/day when we were all able to film as we needed a time when the train station and train wouldn’t be busy and gave us enough time to film before it got too dark.
During the shooting we organized ourselves well by planning who and what we were taking, the order of shooting and who was filming what shot. We took quite a lot of equipment and props with us (music box, dog, camera, video camera, umbrella, torch etc) which meant we had to stay organized in order to not leave anything behind on the train and keep everything safe.
We organized a friend to come with us to film a few of the shots (when we were all in the shot) this wasn’t as reliable as it would have been if we filmed it ourselves as we have had more experience and practice with using a video camera and know what different places to film from and what buttons function what. However it did work well and the friend that helped us understood how to operate the camera quickly.
We only experienced a couple of problems while filming; one problem involving the dog. A couple of the shots on our storyboard involved the dog running off the train and another was getting the dog to jump up at the two girls, however this didn’t happen. The dog was too scared to get off the train on its own, which meant we had to alter that shot, this didn’t cause too much trouble as we thought of solution, involving another idea to solve it.
We couldn’t film our storyboard in a chronological order as bits of it were on the train and other bits were on the platform or down the alley. We solved this though by splitting our shots up into the 3 different settings and ticking off each shot when we had filmed it. One success we had during our shooting was actually being allowed to use the setting we wanted. We had some hesitations at the beginning when planning our idea, if we would be allowed to film on a train and on a platform or would it be seen as trespassing. We were lucky in the fact that the train driver supported us and gave us permission to film on the train for how long we wanted, as long as we didn’t cause any disruptions or damage.
Overall we all feel that our filming went well and have all the correct shots needed to make a successful opening to our thriller.
