Bee07’s Weblog

Our film noir is set in the 1920s and so to make it truly authentic I decided to research 1920s popular slang that can possibly be used by the characters in the film; this will add authenticy and make the film more realisitic.

1920s Popular Slang:
all wet: incorrect
ankle: to walk, i.e. “Let’s ankle!”
Apple sauce: flattery, nonsense, i.e. “Aw, applesauce!”
Baby grand: heavily built man
baby vamp: an attractive or popular female, student.
Balled up: confused, messed up
baloney: Nonsense!
Bank’s closed: no kissing or making out i.e. “Sorry, mac, bank’s closed.”
Beeswax: business, i.e. “None of your beeswax.” Student.
bent: drunk
big cheese: important person
blotto (1930 at the latest): drunk, especially to an extreme
Butt me.: I’ll take a cigarette.
cake-eater: a lady’s man
cat’s meow: great, also “cat’s pajamas” and “cat’s whiskers”
cash: a kiss
Cash or check?: Do we kiss now or later?
clam: a dollar
daddy: a young woman’s boyfriend or lover, especially if he’s rich.
daddy-o: a term of address; strictly an African-American term.
darb: a great person or thing. “That movie was darb.”
dogs: feet
doll: an attractive woman.
Ethel: an effeminate male.
fire extinguisher: a chaperone
flour lover: a girl with too much face powder
futz: a euphemism for “fuck.” i.e. “Don’t futz around.”
get-up (1930): an outfit.
gold-digger (1925): a woman who pursues men for their money.
goods, the: (1) the right material, or a person who has it (2) the facts, the
truth, i.e.”Make sure the cops don’t get the goods on you.”
heavy sugar (1929): a lot of money
heebie-jeebies (1926): “the shakes,” named after a hit song.
hip to the jive: cool, trendy
hooch: booze
hopped up: under the influence of drugs
“I have to go see a man about a dog.”: “I’ve got to leave now,” often meaning
to go buy whiskey.
Jane: any female
java: coffee
jeepers creepers: “Jesus Christ!”
joe: coffee
Joe Brooks: a perfectly dressed person; student.
john: a toilet
juice joint: a speakeasy
killjoy: a solemn person
knock up: to make pregnant
lollygagger: (1) a young man who enjoys making out (2) an idle person
mazuma: money
moonshine: homemade whiskey
neck: to kiss passionately
nifty: great, excellent
nookie: sex
on the lam: fleeing from police
on the level: legitimate, honest
ossified: drunk
panther sweat (1925): whiskey
petting pantry: movie theater
pill: (1) a teacher (2) an unlikable person
putting on the ritz: after the Ritz Hotel in Paris (and its namesake Caesar
Ritz); doing something in high style. Also “ritzy.”
quiff: a slut or cheap prostitute
rag-a-muffin: a dirty or disheveled individual
razz: to make fun of
Real McCoy: a genuine item
says you: a reaction of disbelief
scratch: money
sheba: one’s girlfriend
sheik: one’s boyfriend
simolean: a dollar
skirt: an attractive female
smarty: a cute flapper
so’s your old man: a reply of irritation
speakeasy: a bar selling illegal liquor
splifficated: drunk
spoon: to neck, or at least talk of love
sugar daddy: older boyfriend who showers girlfriend with gifts in exchange for sex
swanky: (1) good (2) elegant
swell: (1) good (2) a high class person
take someone for a ride: to take someone to a deserted location and murder them.
unreal: special
upchuck: to vomit
vamp: (1) a seducer of men, an aggressive flirt (2) to seduce
voot: money
zozzled: drunk

1920s Society

1920s Society

1920s was often called ‘The Jazz Age’ or ‘The Roaring Twenties’, usually when referring to the USA. In Europe the 1920s are usually referred to as ‘The Golden Twenties’.  The 1920s was an era that brought great cultural change; especially in terms of gender roles.

Organized crime gained momentum in the 1920s, especially in urban areas, as the underground production and sale of alcohol became a big and popular business.

1920s America – “One long, crazy party, with jazz music playing on the radio, young fashionable women known as flappers wildly dancing the Charleston, large quantities of illegal alcohol being consumed, and everyone behaving in a scandalous manner.”

World War 1 ended in 1918, Europe struggled with economic and political recovery, but not the United States and in the 1920s people were determined to have fun and enjoy themselves.  More money and leisure time meant that people had greater opportunity to go out and have fun. The entertainment industry boomed, especially Hollywood (1920s – Golden Age for Hollywood) and women were freer than they had ever been. The 1920s also began the jazz age and crazes for new music and dancing. Art: Beginning of the Art Deco and Surrealism movement.

America, which was relatively unaffected by WW1, was able to enjoy peace, prosperity and change but the whole of Europe struggled after the aftermath of the war.

• 106,521,537 people in the United States
• 2,132,000 unemployed, Unemployment 5.2%
• Life expectancy: Male 53.6, Female 54.6
• 343.000 in military (down from 1,172,601 in 1919)
• Average annual earnings $1236; Teacher’s salary $970
• Illiteracy rate reached a new low of 6% of the population.
• Gangland crime included murder, swindles, racketeering

Politics

• Prime Minister David Lloyd George (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (United Kingdom)
• President Woodrow Wilson (United States)
• President Warren G. Harding (United States)
• President Calvin Coolidge (United States)
• President Herbert Hoover (United States)

Women’s Rights

The women’s suffrage movement continued to advance. Women obtained the full voting rights in the USA in 1920 and in the United Kingdom in 1918, (the voting right was only for women over 30 years of age). In 1928 all women were able to vote and began to enter the workplace in large numbers.

Inventions

Automobile (cars) first invented in the 1920s. By the end of the 20s there was almost one car to each American family and the car became increasingly important in the American people’s lives.  The car continued to develop to it’s now modern ’sibling’.  The car became fairly popular fairly fast with wealthy families being more likely to own an automobile.

Intolerance

In the 1920s there was great racism and discrimination. Many people (American) feared opposed immigrants because they did not want radical political party ideas such as communism and anarchism; this fear spread rapidly during the 1920s and became known as ‘The Red Scare’.  Immigrants were persecuted, arrested and deported despite a general lack of evidence that there had been any ‘wrong-doing’.

• Racial Discrimination

1915 – Klu Klax Klan was reformed in the Southern States. Opposed Jews, Catholics, homosexuals and especially black Americans.

1924 – Klu Klax Klan had over 5 million members, many being policeman, judges and local officials

Thousands of black Americans were attacked during the 1920s by the KKK.

People of different races were segregated (different schooling, lack of public facilities, different seating): Jim Crow Law. Many black Americans moved to the North where they were still discriminated against (unofficially) – poorest housing, health services and education, lowest pay.

Film Noir & Murder Mysteries

Stereotypical film noirs consist of specific things and generally include some, if not all, of the following aspects:

• Night-time city streets
• Atmosphere of paranoia
• Beautiful but treacherous woman
• Gullible and morally weak man
• Crime of passion/ money

Sources of Noir

 Film Noir, French for ‘black film’, film noir’s content and stylistic trademarks were developed from a mixture of these influences: Hollywood gangster movies, German expressionist cinema of the Weimar years and French poetic realist films from the period straight after the war. It is an era of film typically associated with a low-key black and white visual style. Many of the prototypical stories and attitudes of classical film noir derive from US crime fiction (‘Hard-boiled’) which began in the United States during The Great Depression (1929).

The use of a questionable hero (fighting his own battles) and ultimately reaching his downfall – walking away into the streets or death have now become stigmas of the film noir.

First appeared in the early 1940s, very stereotypically crowded, dark settings. Things like Venetian blinds and detectives offices are commonplace. Minimal light is essential in creating a noir effect. Very low or very high camera angles as well as pan across from one object to another to make the audience feel like they are in the detective’s ‘mind eye’ (seeing what the main character is seeing) 

Typically shot in black and white, film noir’s ‘classic era’ was during the 1940s to the 1950s, a period just after World War II. Film Noir is a cinematic term mainly used to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas.

• Element of light and darkness in characters and settings = Important.
• Watching film noir: foggy, dark, mysterious, keeps audience in suspension and tension

From The Rough Guide to Film Noir:

Many critics have observed that film noir’s focus on individual paranoia and psychological disturbance is linked to the fact that by the 1940s there was a widespread awareness of psychoanalysis in the US. (Page 21)

Best Film Noir titles: (Taken from the Internet Movie Database)

Film Noir conventions (Filming and Lighting)

• Night for night
• Low key lighting
• ‘Venetian’ blind lighting
• Urban settings
• Unconventional camera angles
• High angle
• Low angle
• Dutch angle (sideways: sloped)
• Close up
• Panning

Primary Moods

• Melancholy
• Alienation
• Bleakness
• Disillusionment
• Moral corruption
• Evil
• Desperation
• Paranoia / Guilt
• Ambiguity
• Pessimism 

From: http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html

Film noir films were marked visually by expressionistic lighting, deep-focus or depth of field camera work, disorienting visual schemes, jarring editing or juxtaposition of elements, ominous shadows, skewed camera angles (usually vertical or diagonal rather than horizontal), circling cigarette smoke, existential sensibilities, and unbalanced or moody compositions. Settings were often interiors with low-key (or single-source) lighting, venetian-blinded windows and rooms, and dark, claustrophobic, gloomy appearances. Exteriors were often urban night scenes with deep shadows, wet asphalt, dark alleyways, rain-slicked or mean streets, flashing neon lights, and low key lighting. Story locations were often in murky and dark streets, dimly-lit and low-rent apartments and hotel rooms of big cities, or abandoned warehouses. [Often-times, war-time scarcities were the reason for the reduced budgets and shadowy, stark sets of B-pictures and film noirs.]

24^th September 2008

We were introduced to the Advanced Production today and told what the sections were (film, magazine etc.) I created a magazine last year and I definitely wanted to create a film this year. Yasmin and I both wanted to create a film. The specifications for this are a five minute film in its entirety  based on anything  and so we began discussing possibilities, just random ideas; more genres so that we could have an idea for a film as fast as possible to begin everything ASAP. Thought of a few ideas but none really struck either of us as amazing and something that we found 100% exciting, we agreed to think of ideas for next lesson.

26^th September 2008

I thought of a few good ideas – one which I’m particularly excited about. Yasmin and I decided we wanted Evie and Steph working with us as we all get along. They missed the first lesson so we began brainstorming ideas again – we all worked really productively and I told the rest of the group my idea of a murder mystery, I was inspired by Cluedo! They all seemed enthused by the idea and we began discussing it further. By the end of the lesson all four of us had settled on our idea for our film for Advanced Production: a murder mystery set in the 1920s that followed the film noir genre. Set out our research topics for the next time we were working on the advanced production.

3^rd October 2008

We set out our research topics so that we could gain as much knowledge as possible about the 1920s, in which our film is set in, and the film noir genre. This will mean that our film is as realistic and authentic as possible. My research took me ages to do but by the end of it I was confident on the things I had researched and felt fully prepared to tackle a film noir film set in the 1920s. J

We discussed our research today, my topics of research were 1920s society, the film noir genre and murder mysteries and 1920s slang as well as looking into possible music and musical effects that could be used in our film. I did quite a lot of research and picked up a book from the library called The Rough Guide To Film Noir which talks about successful film noirs and the film noir genre and its generic conventions which is really useful. I found one piece of uncopyrighted music that I think is just perfect and the others seemed to like it too; it fits the film noir genre well and has that element of suspense that a murder mystery is known for.

We collated all our research together so that we all had a broad knowledge on our subject and could work better at producing a more realistic and professional film. Lots of discussion on our research was done so we were sure we were clear on what we needed to do to make the film as authentic as possible.

10^th October 2008

More discussion today this time in relation to the film and storyline, we began brainstorming on potential storylines – I took a book out of the library specifically on film noir films and it helped with ideas for storylines etc. The discussions went well and we worked effectively as a group with everyone points being taken into consideration and everyone getting a chance to give ideas and suggestions.

We decided on a storyline and plot for our film that I and the rest of the group are really happy with. I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks or months or whatever!  We also decided on our main characters in the film and created character profiles for each; we began a preliminary script of just the first scene but I’m guessing this is likely to change depending on how we feel with it but we just wanted to get an idea on how we would work when writing up the script; we worked well together with all of us inputting ideas and discussing throughout for the first line etc. and I nominated to type since I’m a fairly fast typist and everyone was okay with this.

We also decided that we would be holding auditions for our film instead of using friends – we want to ensure that the film is as professional as possible and this means auditions!  We have five principal roles and this is what we’ll be auditioning for. Preparations for auditions are underway and we decided that since the majority of our work was done so far and everything’s going so well that we can have our auditions on Friday 17^th October – just one week away! It means that we’ll have to ensure we’ve done as much advertising for the auditions as possible in the next week. We’re all really excited and I’m hoping the auditions are successful so that we can pick our five main characters and hopefully five understudies: just in case.

17^th October 2008

We held our auditions today from 1pm to 3pm. I created the advertisement posters that gave the information for the auditions and we posted them around the college and the departments we thought we would be more likely to get a response from, like the drama department. By Friday I was use to seeing the posters everywhere and we were all hopeful that we’d get lots of people auditioning.  

We all created audition monologues for each principal character – this meant that the auditonees would be able to decide on who to audition for and could have a few minutes to read over the audition monologue before they actually auditioned. We felt this would mean we would get a better indication if the person would be suitable or not. I created the audition monologue for Ruby Love and the four of us created Harry Jackson’s monologue together. Steph created forms for the auditonees to sign saying their name, contact details and who they were auditioning for which meant that it was far easier when we had to decide on who to choose to actually distinguish who was who and be able to contact them instantly.

We also decided to film the auditions as this would be able to be used as evidence that we actually did the auditions and also meant that we could play the footage back after the auditions and decide again, after all the excitement on who we wanted, who we didn’t want and why and as a result we were able to choose the best actors and actresses for our film.

The auditions were so much fun! And a really great experience. At first the stream of auditonees was more a drip and admittedly we were getting frustrated that we went getting as many people as we wanted. But after a while we got loads of people auditioning for our roles. We wanted more and so we went to the drama department to give them a reminder that auditions for our film noir were happening and if they wanted to audition – now was the time.  After that lots of drama students auditioned and we decided to extend our auditions to 3:30 due to not being able to see everyone in the time we allocated.

We had some really good auditions and some that were not as good, but it was a fantastic experience, I liked being a judge! Straight after the auditions had finished we decided to watch the footage to see how they came across on camera while their auditions were still fresh in our minds. We had 23 auditions in total!

We discussed who we wanted at great length and finally settled on five people that we were all happy with. We also chose our understudies in case one of our actors bails out (fingers crossed that won’t be happening) and we decided we would contact them on Wednesday; our next media lesson.

22^nd October 2008

We contacted all our actors; congratulating them on getting the role and everything. We also contacted our understudies to ensure they would be happy with being an understudy and contacted all our other auditionees to say thank you for auditioning and that it was very hard as everyone was of a good high standard but unfortunately they wouldn’t be in our film; we also offered them the option of being extras in the film instead. (It costs nothing to be nice). J

We also printed off all the important documents that would need signing or filling out either by the actors or their parents etc. Documents like call sheets, risk assessment and talent release forms.

Very importantly we decided on the locations for our film – a train station and train carriage. The train carriage will be created in a normal room filled with rich fabrics etc. and the train station will be filmed on location (don’t think we should fake something like that!), so we’ll need to sort that out ASAP as well as our script.

7^th November 2008

Disaster! We were going to transfer the footage from our auditions on the 17^thonto DVDs to use as evidence in our coursework when we went to find the technician that was in charge of the cameras he told us he had deleted the footage and changed the format of the cameras, so we have no way of getting our footage back. I’m devastated and so angry, it took so much effort and time to get the auditions to go as well as they did and the footage – our evidence of doing the auditions had been deleted.  I talked to our media teachers but by the looks of it there’s really nothing we can do; which is the most frustrating thing in the world to be told!

We began our script from last time with a few alteration t the original piece we had written and we got loads of it done. I typed up the script and received input from the others as I did so. I think that we are a really productive group and it helps that we are all really enthusiastic and excited about this film; we’re all working really hard and well together.

Yasmin and I went to drama to go and see costumes that we could use for our film – we’ll need 1920s clothes and shoes, unfortunately drama told us we’ll have to go back next week to see the costumes and she’ll have them ready for us to take a look at: can’t wait!

14^th November 2008

We contacted our actors earlier in the week for them to come and sign forms etc. and to take them home for their parents to sign. We scheduled for our actors to come and collect their scripts on Wednesday (19^th November) as we thought we should finish the script today and if not by Wednesday at the very latest.

We finished the script today and I think it’s really good – we’re all happy with it and it should be within the time constraints that have been set for the advanced production but I guess we won’t know that for sure until we have a rehearsal with our actors. Even if it’s a little longer, the magic of editing should fix the problem and there are parts that, at a push, I guess we could take out of the script. Time limits – they’re not the nicest of things.

19^th November 2008

We gave our script to our actors and organised to have a rehearsal on Friday (21^st November).  We recorded some information about our actors such as dates they can’t film and days that they are unable to do anything; this will be crucial especially when we’re filming.

Yasmin and I went to see the 1920s costumes that the drama department had, there are load of pieces that we will be able to use and they all seem the right sizes for our actors. The drama department said they would get back to us about footwear and I decided to go to my old secondary school who had numerous performances and productions to ask if they also had 1920s costumes (for our extras etc) and I got some advice – “Ask your actors to supply their own costumes – especially extras that aren’t the main focus of the film”

21^st November 2008

We had our first rehearsal today and it didn’t go according to plan; three out of our five actors were unable to attend. One being ill with laryngitis (she said she was just getting better) and the other two were on an unexpected UCAS trip which meant that we only had two actors that were able to make it. We decided to fill the parts of the missing actors so as not to waste an opportunity, I filmed the rehearsals and they went well, our two actors were really good in their roles however, ideally I wanted to see all our actors together. This would give them a chance to interact and get to know each other as well as allowing us to see how well the film will go and how well our actors are doing etc. We organised to have a dress rehearsal next Friday, I contacted the actors and gave them plenty of notice, hopefully no unexpected trips or illnesses will occur and next week’s rehearsals will go better.

Steph and I sorted out the final details of the preliminary paperwork etc before we begin filming and found the contact details for Liverpool Street Station where we’re hoping to film the beginning section of our film. We also decided on our group name which we called SEBY Productions, using the initials of all four members of the group.

28^th November 2008

Unfortunately Steph and Evie weren’t in today. Steph was really ill and Evie’s going to be in hospital for the next few days which meant me and Yasmin had to go ahead with the dress rehearsals that we had organised together; which wasn’t a problem. We had the full dress rehearsals and much to my relief the whole cast (the full 5 members) turned up, they all tried on their costumes that we were able to arrange and thankfully all the costumes fit the actors well.

We did an initial rehearsal where the actors went through their lines together and then did a full dress rehearsal which went superbly although, again we did go slightly over time but this includes directing the actors and explaining to them parts of the script and any other questions they had. Overall, it went really well and Yasmin and I were really pleased. Again, the dress rehearsals were filmed so that we can use it as evidence; I filmed the rehearsals.

Last week Evie and Yasmin were suppose to go to an editing workshop, however, due to the Macs crashing and not working properly this was cancelled and both were supposed to go to the editing workshop this Friday. But, unfortunately, Evie was absent and so Yasmin and I decided to go to the editing workshop instead, we learnt how to edit footage and the basics of cutting, watching and inserting effects into the footage. After the editing workshop Yasmin and I went to the technician to book a day when we could transfer all our rehearsal footage onto a DVD, we’ll be doing that this coming Wednesday (3^rd December)

3^rd December 2008

Today I was unable to transfer the footage of the auditions as the technician was unavailable, so we’ve decided to try again this coming Friday. I brought the discs so that we have something to actually put the footage on, which hopefully we’ll be doing this Friday (5^th December)

5^th December 2008

Steph and I researched appropriate locations for shooting, including the London train stations and unfortunately it looks like might not be able to film at a train station after all. There are a lot of things that we didn’t initially consider or deem of such an importance such as travel and cost, so Steph and I also researched alternative places where we could film and we later discussed this with Yasmin and Evie.

Steph and I also went to Brendan the technician to put our audition footage on the disc, he showed us how we would do this when we came to our actual film and we were able to successfully put our audition footage onto a disc. We also evaluated the footage once we watched it again and have noticed a few things such as intonation in scenes and misinterpretations. I’ll be bringing this up in our next rehearsal with our actors. Steph and I also spoke to our actors about the final rehearsal before the Christmas holidays and they all said they would be able to come.

12^th December 2008

Paperwork is essential in making any media and Steph began the paperwork for the actor’s and information like that as it’s her job as producer. We had the final rehearsal before the Christmas holidays and it went really well. The actors were all responsive and enthusiastic and I can’t wait to start filming after Christmas. Yasmin and I looked through different cuts and edits available on the editing program on the Macs, we went through all the edits and cuts available and found some that were really bad and really cheesy and so inappropriate for our film noir. There were some good ones and I noted them all down so that when we come to editing and drawing up our storyboards we have some idea of the cuts available to us.

9^th January 2009

 We’re all back from the Christmas holidays and we began our storyboard for our film noir. Yasmin nominated herself for drawing whilst we all took part in discussing what type of shots we should use in the film. I participated throughout and felt it was important that we all agreed on the shots. There were some disagreements but when this happened we decided on what fitted the film noir genre better and had a vote for which option and this seemed to work well in resolving any issues. We got off to a good start but I think the storyboards are going to take much longer than we imagine, they’re really intensive as you have to include every single shot and I want to get it right. I think that when we’re actually shooting there might be some slight changes made depending on location, actors and what looks better and as director this will be my responsibility.

16^th January 2009

We began to construct our filming timetable and general schedule which I implemented, taking into consideration any days that our actor’s or people from our team couldn’t do, according to the timetable we will finish EVERYTHING a week in advance which will mean we have a contingency for any unforeseen circumstances or if anything goes wrong *touch wood*.  This timetable will be useful in seeing if we are keeping to our schedule and we will be taking full advantage of the half term starting the 16^th February and this is when we should begin filming. Can’t wait!

30^th January 2009

Yasmin and I talked to all the actors, reminding them to learn their lines and we also asked them if there were any dates during the half term when they definitely couldn’t film. We received the answers we wanted to hear that they were all able to film during any day – not weekends however due to work commitments. So it should go ahead without a problem filming begins on Tuesday 17^th February. We finished the storyboards today and I think that they look really good and incorporate typical film noir convention as well as our own ideas; I can’t way to put paper into live action.

We also confirmed our locations today, unfortunately we won’t be able to film at a train station and at the moment we have decided to begin the film from the carriages instead. To highlight that they are on the train we’ll have to find un-copyrighted footage of a 1920s train leaving so that we can incorporate it into our film. I took photos of the locations to use as evidence and also of some other locations that we are considering filming particular scenes in.

6^th February 2009

We had planned to do a dress rehearsal today and record the voiceovers for our characters, however due to the bad weather and everything class was cancelled and many people didn’t make it in and so we were unable to progress with our Advanced Production. It means that we’ve been put a week behind which is slightly worrying but as we plan to begin shooting during half term and our actors have their scripts it’s not too big a deal I guess. It meant that once I got home I was able to ensure for the millionth time that I had all the paperwork needed.

I found out that I wouldn’t be available on Tuesday or Thursday due to a training session that I will be having for a job. Steph is going to the same so I’ve come up with Monday and Wednesday as out two shooting days: our actors were fine with this, when we contacted them.

11^th February 2009

Yasmin and I went to talk to the actors today in person to ensure that they were able to make rehearsals this Friday instead and if they were available for filming during the half term. Talked to Liam and Kimberly, two of our actors and they were fine with it and when we went up to the drama department it was eerily empty. We hadn’t been warned about anything happening by our actors as they hadn’t replied to any emails, so I was extremely confused by their sudden disappearance. It’s left me worried that they might not tread their emails and therefore won’t turn up on Friday when we want to record the voiceovers and do a final dress rehearsal but fingers crossed everything should go well.

We finally finished drawing our storyboard and I feel it went well. It all looks good but I have a feeling that we may go over our time limit of five minutes by about 45 seconds. With editing however, this shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve revised the script and I can see where I can cut some lines if we really, really, really have to.

13^th February 2009

Today was the day of the final rehearsal but Kimberly was off ill and our other three actors were also absent and we haven’t been able to get hold off them for a while now which is worrying. It meant that only Liam was in so we made the most out of a bad situation and I recorded all of Liam’s voiceovers, this means that we have the main voiceover done for the film; I had to record the voiceover on a normal filming camera but the microphone is good and I was fairly close so that the sound was clear. I gave Liam a few directions on some of his lines where I felt he had misinterpreted how they should be said. He took my directions on really well and we were soon done. When listening back it sounded good and we’ll have to strip the sound from the footage obviously so that the voiceover can go over the proper scenes once the film is all shot.

Unfortunately Andreas isn’t in on Monday when we wanted to film and so the only available date we have for filming is Wednesday when all our crew and actors and teachers are available. This does provide a problem and I am slightly concerned. We have told our actors to arrive at 10am, whilst Steph, Yasmin and I will be arriving at 9am to set up the location, equipment, costumes, props and everything else so that there is not time wasting on the day. We should be able to film our most important scenes on that day and we are really organised and will be really organised on the day to make sure that nobody will be standing around doing nothing and that no time is wasted.

Our three actors have all been very good when they are available, however we haven’t been able to get hold off them for a while and have no idea if they will be turning up on Wednesday, we also couldn’t get hold off the understudies as they are in the same class as our three and so we were kind of stuck – we were now missing a Amelia, Gracie-Lou and Harry. We therefore turned to our friends. Yasmin had two people that she knew that also did drama and Steph knew someone too that did drama, we contacted them and they said yes they’d be able to attend. Which is good news and means that we have back ups in case our actors (the drama students) do not attend. I also spoke to a friend of mine as an extra back up just in case; after all the problems we’ve had with people not attending etc I’ve learned it’s better to be over prepared when it comes to counting on someone else. This obviously isn’t the most ideal situation as it means these three new people will only have a couple of days to read over the script and I doubt they’ll be able to memorise it meaning filming is likely to take much longer; but I am so thankful that they agreed to be in the film. So even though it’s not the perfect situation the three people we have found on such short notice all do drama, act and are willing to do this for us on such short notice. It should work out fine and it’ll be up to us to help them act out the character in the manner we want which isn’t a problem and one of my responsibilities as director.

I went to see Brendan to book out the lights so that we can use them when we begin filming but they had already been booked out by Renier. Yasmin then went to talk to Renier and he said we can use them on the days we are filming – which is very good news! Lighting is really important in the film noir genre and without lights; our film would not have been as effective. Steph created a detailed prop list and gave Yasmin, me and herself (Evie wasn’t in) each specific item that we needed to bring with us on filming day. Although not everything as gone as smoothly as I hoped, it’s all falling into place (slowly but surely) and I’m looking forward to Wednesday when we start filming. J

18^th February 2009

Today was filming day! The three drama people that played Harry, Gracie-Lou and Amelia did not turn up but Yasmin was able to bring three replacements of people that she knew and they were fine although filming did take longer because mistakes happened more often since they only had a day or two if that to be able to go through their lines. But we worked around it. I brought two pairs of 1920-esque shoes for Ruby and Gracie-Lou as well as Ruby’s dress. I also brought sheets for the storage room of the carriage and rollers to curl the girls’ hair but this wasn’t necessary in the end. I bought eye liner and mascara to ensure that the actresses had authentic looking 1920s style makeup which is dark eyes and red lips. I also bought a hat that is stereotypically 1920s and fitted Gracie-Lou’s character well as it further emphasised Gracie-Lou’s innocent demeanour.

Evie, Yasmin and I all arrived at 9am to begin prepping the room in which we were using to film the train carriage and spare carriage scenes. We began by clearing the room and I started to set up the main carriage. We used sheets to cover the chairs and a table propped up on top of another table to give the illusion of walls; it wasn’t idealistic but I believe it was effective and the end result is good, I think. Myself and Evie went to find Brendan so we could get a connect cable to plug the boom into the main camera and then Yasmin and Evie went to get some more lights from the photography department. Brendan believed that the boom wasn’t working properly with the camera as he could hear some interference, however when we quickly filmed a test run and then I unplugged the headphones I found that the problem was that the headphones were not functioning properly but the sound quality was good; we wasted about half an hour with Brendan trying to figure out how to fix it when there wasn’t anything to fix – but better to be safe than sorry I guess.

Our actors got dressed and began going over their lines at about 10am but due to the boom and headphones incident we only started filming at about ten to eleven. This really annoyed me because I felt that we could or should have started earlier to make the most out of having the whole day free for filming but we worked hard enough after to do quite a bit in the time limit that we had. Evie was in charge of sound, Yasmin was filming, Steph was overseeing everything and I directed I was also doing the lighting. We worked well as a team and our actors were responsive to everything we asked of them and anything that I pointed out that I wanted doing again was received with optimism, which meant that we were able to work more productively as a group.

Evie recorded the remainder of the voiceovers that were needed; for Ruby’s (played by Kimberley) voiceover and for Harry’s (played by Kev) voiceover both Steph and I were present; I directed both clearly and precisely with both actors if I felt something did not come across as we intended to help us get the best result possible for our film; Steph also pointed out anything I had missed and together the voiceover were quickly recorded. While Yasmin and I set up the new ‘location’ of the spare carriage where everything is covered as if in storage – Steph did bring up the question if this would be clear to our audience and I assume that they’ll be able to make the connection that with the furniture covered it is a spare carriage or storeroom – let’s hope so! Evie and Steph recorded the last voiceover of Gracie-Lou and that means that all our voiceovers are recorded: we can check that of the To Do list and its one less thing to worry about.

Once the spare carriage scene was set up we decided it would be best to do Ruby and Amelia’s flashback scene and the scene when the body is found by Eric. I had to control the lights by holding them up and moving them etc to ensure that lighting remained in the film noir genre and lighted our actors and their surroundings well but everything was still film noir-ish; which I believe we achieved with lighting in a very successful way. We all participated actively in discussing the best ways to light certain elements of each scene and I think the end result is very good. We also had to do lots and lots of takes mainly so that we could get lots of different shots of each scene and I’m pretty happy with the amount of shots that we did get for each scene although in an ideal world I would have wanted more, (but maybe that’s just because I’m a bit greedy and like a vast selection!). We had to leave by four and so we stopped filming at half three so that we would have time to tidy the room and have time to get everything back to the way it originally was in the morning when we got there.

Overall I feel that we were productive as a team; we worked hard as individuals – each with our specific role and we also cam together properly as a team and worked effectively together. If I felt something wasn’t right I felt happy to express my opinions and did so as this was my required role. I was able to work well with all members of my group as well as the actors - I worked closely with Yasmin looking through each shot and ensuring that it was effective, fitted into film noir and that we were happy with it as a group as well as just me or Yasmin or whoever. Steph as producer also gave her opinions focusing more on the crew and ensuring we were all working. We were able to completely finish voiceovers, complete an entire scene (Ruby and Amelia), and complete several shots of when all the characters are together in the main carriage and also the scene where the camera is Eric’s (played by Liam) point of view and sees Amelia’s (played by Kayleigh) body. We also shot Harry and Eric’s beginning scene. Looking back on the day now that I’m at home I feel we were very productive; I would like to have done more and filmed more scenes but now I think we actually did really well all things considered. We overcame problems such as failing to turn up actors and have completed numerous parts of the film with loads of shots. Although we did fall behind schedule and I think we are now slightly behind the timetable I devised for the group, it’s going well and I’m optimistic. I think that the things we did film today were all of a high quality and all our actors were really good. We plan to film more of the film next Friday when we are back at college – fingers crossed it will go as well as today only on fast forward! J

27^th February 2009

Today Evie was extremely ill and so was Steph and both went home before we started the advanced production. Frustratingly, they didn’t miss much. Yasmin and I hoped to film all of the scenes with Liam and Kimberley who are playing Eric and Ruby. But unfortunately Liam did not have his suit with him and we didn’t have any potential scenes that we could film with just Kimberley (who is playing Ruby) and so that was a bit of a disappointment to say the least. We shot Liam’s desk scene where there is a shot of all his papers littering his desk and apart from that there was not much else we could do in terms of filming; which was so annoying I could have screamed. 

Yasmin and I therefore decided to capture all the footage we had filmed so far and put it onto the Macs and onto Final Cut Pro and possibly begin a bit of editing. Again, Luck wasn’t on our side and when we first began editing the sound was not begin copied although there was sound present it was not heard. Renier helped us fix this problem and we started experimenting on how to edit. It was good and we were able to take a sneak peek of what the footage would look like if it was in black and white. All the footage we have filmed so far is on the computer and in a project in Final Cut Pro ready to be edited.

2^nd March 2009

Today I went in search of a room. I talked to the girls about it before I did of course and they agreed with me. We waste too much time setting up the room that we are currently using (which is also a classroom) and this means we do not have as much time filming, and it is really getting to me. I have created a filming schedule if we filmed everything from scratch again and I have also created a contingency plan by giving each scene more time than I believe it needs. In total I calculate that we will need ten hours of filming to complete the film and any extras completely.

I went to one of the head tutors of the sixth form building and asked if they had any free rooms for the next two Fridays and after much thinking on her part she said yes! I asked if I could book it for Friday and she said yes but not for the whole day; that it was only free in the afternoon or for one part of the day. I said this was fine, after all beggars can’t be choosers! And it was as simple as that, I explained the circumstances and she said it was fine we could use LG12 this coming Friday to film our film noir. And, hopefully, with luck on our side everything should go according to plan.

4^th March 2009

I went to speak to Andreas to warn him that we would be filming on Friday afternoon, which is the slot dedicated to the advanced production. I explained to him that I had booked out a room and to ensure that he was okay with this and if we could still use the camera and lights on Friday too and he said that it wouldn’t be a problem. Full steam ahead to Friday!

6^th March 2009

We started filming today on schedule and overall it was a successful filming day. I had already made a filming schedule earlier this week and estimated how long each scene would take. This meant that there would be no time wasting as we were more organized as a group and know which scenes included which characters and how long they would take. Today we filmed all the scenes that included Ruby (played by Kimberley) and Eric (played by Liam). Again, I was directing the actors and Yasmin in terms of shots, positioning and lighting as Yasmin was filming and Evie was in charge of sound, Steph, as producer also helped decide on camera angles etc. We filmed the scenes at Eric’s office first and they were good, we filmed the scene a few times at various angles so that we would have a wide range of choices when editing. I had the storyboard and script and tried to maintain truthful to our initial plans, changing small things that I felt was necessary and that the others agreed with. We then filmed Eric and Ruby’s corridor scenes which again were really good. The actors were both responsive to any advise I gave them and followed my instructions well.

It was a very productive working day and we filmed two whole scenes. The use of the room which I booked on Wednesday was very useful and meant that we were able to set up and do everything at a faster rate as it was an empty classroom. I feel like everything has gone really well today and next week we will be filming the scenes with all the cast and the scenes that the other three actors are in which haven’t been done yet. It’s going well and hopefully when we film again next Friday the same amount of positivity and productivity and general luck will be around again.

11^th March 2009

I wasn’t able to get to class for very long today, however Yasmin edited the very first scene of Eric’s office; I’ve watched it and it looks really good. There are some minor things such as the actor moving too fast in one section however overall I think it’s really effective and am so pleased with the end result. I booked out the same room as last Friday (LG12) with Yasmin today; we have booked it for the whole Friday from 11am to 4:30pm this means that we will have almost a whole day filming which means hopefully we will be able to do the majority if not all the remainder of the shooting of the film. I’m really looking forward to Friday having had such a positive and prolific day last Friday.

13^th March 2009

Our three actors – the replacements of the original actors – said they could no longer come to filming due to school commitments we therefore found another three people who said they will always be available on a Friday; these are our third batch of actors for the roles of Harry, Amelia and Gracie-Lou. I think that the main thing that I have learnt during these months of creating film is that you cannot rely on student actors especially if they’re not being paid because they just don’t care. Unfortunately Liam (who is playing Eric) couldn’t come in for filming today as he had to meet a deadline, this however wasn’t a problem as it meant, and following my trustee timetable, that we could film the other scenes in which Liam isn’t in as we have filmed the majority of Liam’s scenes anyway. However, with our three new actors it does mean that we will have to film some of the scenes that we had already filmed all over again.

I arrived slightly earlier today and began setting up the room on my own, I had brought all my props again and I decided that today we would only film the spare carriage scenes: focusing mainly on Harry (now played by Joe) and Amelia’s (now played by Danielle) scenes and re-film the ending shot of Gracie (now played by Scarlet) holding the gun and her other scene listening to Harry and Amelia. I also wanted to film all of Harry’s solo scenes – which are him writing the note and scrunching it up into his pocket, I discussed this with the others and they were in agreement and amazingly we did all this in the time provided with ample shots of everything! We worked really well. Yasmin and Evie for the best part of the day were editing while Steph and I were filming, working the sound and lighting. I also was continually giving directions to the actors and discussing frames and different possible shots with Steph. 

Steph and I worked really well and really efficiently. Our actors were amazing and responded well to all my directions and when I would ask to retake a scene over and over again. I’m so happy with how the day has gone today, we saved on time as when Steph and I were filming Evie and Yasmin were editing the footage that we had already put on the Macs from last week. This meant that Yasmin was no longer working on filming and on the camera and I therefore took this role and Evie who was in charge of sound was taken over by Steph. I think we were both really good in our new and actual roles which we continued to take on. We also swapped places for one scene and I really enjoyed working with the boom and ensuring the sound was correct however it’s harder than it looks. I loved working with the camera and have always enjoyed filming, and am happy with the final results for all the scenes that we have done. Today couldn’t have gone better really. Next Friday will be our last week filming so that we have a week remainder as a contingency plan. If we continue working at the rate that we have been and with our actors (that will hopefully stick this time!) I believe that we can. Yasmin and I plan to go in on Monday morning to see if we can capture the rest of the footage that we filmed today onto the Macs as well as the music that I found and I think she has some music too and see if we can edit anymore of the scenes or add on voiceovers etc. I’m looking forward to it and I can’t wait to film again.

18^th March 2009

Today Yasmin and I began to capture the footage from Friday and started editing, Final Cut Pro quit on us unexpectedly several times however, and so capturing footage was a no for today instead we edited the scenes with Ruby and Eric (played by Kimberley and Liam) which had been lost when Final Cut Pro quit unexpectedly. We were able to edit this scene again and I think it looks really good; we also added the music I had found when doing my research ages ago and incorporated that into the beginning scenes which works really well and makes it seem even more film-like than before which is really exciting to see.

I have worked out exactly what needs to  be filmed and what order we should film each scene so that we are not constantly swapping our actors or rebuilding locations, if we follow the schedule that I have made we should be okay and I’m optimistic that we will reach the deadline that has been set.

20^th March 2009

Today was a filming day again, Steph arrived first and so began setting up the room much like I did last week, we worked quickly in setting up the location and collecting the equipment that we need (camera, tripod and boom). Yasmin and I brought in our props and I showed my filming schedule and the others agreed with the idea and so we set out filming, I was filming on the camera, Steph was doing sound and Yasmin was doing lighting, Evie unfortunately wasn’t in today. We first did Eric (played by Liam) and Harry’s (played by Joe) scene. It went really well and we were able to get lots of shots for a relatively short scene our actors were really responsive to my directions and we all worked really well together both actors and crew. The next scene we did after this was Eric and Gracie-Lou’s (played by Scarlet) scene again we were able to film everything in this scene with sufficient shots for editing, we also filmed he scene of everyone in the carriage which we have had to re-shoot due to replacement of actors. Everything went really well today and we would have been able to finish filming today however all our actors minus Harry (played by Joe) had to leave by half one and couldn’t come back for the remainder of the day. This was quite frustrating but our actors have been working really hard for us to get this film done and have been really responsive to my directions etc. We finished at half one having done as much as we could in the short time that we had. I feel that we done really well and we all worked really hard, we now only have three more scenes to do which we should be able to finish by the end of next week at the very most. We have organised with our actors to film for an hour on Monday from 12:30 to 1:30, this hour will be used to film the spare carriage scene where Amelia is found dead which will involve all the actors. This will mean that after this shot if filmed we will only have two more scenes to do with only three actors: Ruby, Harry and Amelia.

In the afternoon to make the most of our time Steph, Yasmin and I began editing the footage we had filmed today and last week. However when capturing the footage Final Cut Pro quit unexpectedly again which was really infuriating and meant that we had lost the footage that we had started to capture this happened for a second time and we decided to try once more and thankfully Final Cut Pro worked like it was supposed to! We began editing the carriage scene and it went really well I think it looks very professional, the only problem with some of the shots are little mistakes that only we seem to notice such as the actor looking at the camera for a second or a different page of the newspaper being shown etc. When we showed these pieces of footage to others they didn’t seem to notice however so I guess it was just me being overcritical of our work when I found little mistakes like that. We edited the carriage scene with all the characters and we also edited the Gracie-Lou and Eric scene, which all went well and it looks really good. Steph left at 4pm and after that Yasmin and I edited Harry and Eric’s scene and we also added in Harry’s voiceovers to some of the shots of Harry on his own that we had previously filmed. Today was a really productive day and I feel that I did well in my role of film and director; we got some really good shots with great lighting and I can’t wait to see the film in its entirety. I really love being a director and I love filming, being able to decide what is on camera and being able to decide what looks good and what is more effective is so much fun and I get a real buzz from both directing and filming.

23^rd March 2009

Today we filmed a quick scene when Amelia’s body is found in the spare carriage. Danielle, who plays Amelia however didn’t turn up and so I volunteered to stand in for her – she’s a dead body in this scene anyway and I have dark hair like her. Yasmin was filming and I told her she can’t film my face. Scarlet who plays Gracie-Lou also didn’t turn up which meant that we borrowed another girl, Alicia, in this scene Gracie-Lou’s face is covered by her hands and although if you watch the footage closely you could probably tell that it isn’t Scarlet as Gracie-Lou in this scene, we are running out of time and as I have learnt actors are not the most reliable of people, especially for a student film. But hey, we work with what we’re given. Although I should add that our actors: Kimberley and Liam (who play Ruby Love and Eric Milford) have been with us from the beginning and are always trying really hard and follow my directions without complaint and have been great to work with. So today I stood in for Danielle as Amelia’s dead body (so much acting required (!)) J It meant that it was harder to direct but I think I managed well after every shot was filmed I asked to see it and then would give my opinion and I think we all worked really well today and got the scene filmed quickly and effectively.

We uploaded the footage and Yasmin and I began editing as the others had lessons and it’s mine and Yasmin’s afternoon off. I really enjoy editing and have liked learning how to, it’s great to be slowly putting the film together. We edited all the footage that we had so far and it’s looking really good. I’m a bit anxious about the deadline date though; we have (and this is no exaggeration) been the unluckiest group EVER with problems with actors and problems with equipment and problems with just everything, I hope nothing else goes wrong though: I’ll have my fingers crossed for the next two weeks!

25^th March 2009

Today Steph and I recorded Gracie-Lou’s (played by Scarlet) voiceover which didn’t take long. Steph filmed the voiceover using the camera and I was giving direction throughout which Scarlet took on board quickly and was able to complete the voiceovers for her character really quickly. All four of us then began editing, we work well as a team but I don’t feel we edited as much as we could have done today which is a bit nerve-wracking especially since the deadline is next Friday. I love the way the film is coming along and I don’t want to jinx anything but it’s looking good and I feel positive that everything is going to work out well and we’ll be finished by the deadline.

27^th March 2009

I shouldn’t really be surprised that we had problems with our actors again. We wanted to film all of Harry (played by Joe) and Ruby’s (played by Kimberley) scenes but her teacher wouldn’t let her out for an hour which is how long we need her. And although understand that she can’t miss her lesson, it’s our coursework too and she’d catch up with any work missed. I understand but it doesn’t mean I agree. To save time, Yasmin and I decided to film a quick scene where Ruby’s face is not shown, Yasmin had to stand in for Kimberley and play Ruby. I therefore filmed and was in charge of lighting and sound and doing it on my own was a little hard but I think I managed pretty well and we got some good shots.

We had to film the scene between Harry and Ruby (where there is speaking) after Kimberley had finished class at half three which went well, Yasmin and I took turns filming and then I did lighting as well as my main role of directing. The scene went really well and I think it was one of my favorite scenes to shoot and I think our actors did well as did we in producing a good, solid scene; let’s hope it will good once we’re editing. I always notice little things after we’ve filmed that you notice when editing but I am super picky too as I want the film to be perfect so I’m hoping no one else can see these little imperfections as obviously as I can.

During the reminder of the day when we weren’t shooting, Steph, Yasmin and I were editing. It went really well and the three of us worked brilliantly together. We were able to edit everything we had left to edit not including some voiceovers. I am so excited about the film and it looks really good, there are a few continuity issues but it’s just too late to reshoot any scenes, there not really obvious things but they are noticeable. I just hope that they won’t deter away from the film’s storyline. Apart from these minor issues the film looks really good and today wasn’t too bad given the circumstances. Steph, Yasmin and I worked really well together and we were very productive, the film is coming together and it’s looking fantastic. I can’t wait until it’s finished.

1^st April 2009

The deadline is in two days!! I think the film will be finished by then but we’re cutting it really tight. Steph and Evie weren’t in but it wasn’t too much of a problem. Yasmin and I decided to cut out Ruby (played by Kimberley) and Amelia’s (played by Danielle) as although a nice scene wasn’t necessary and didn’t really add anything to the storyline. We are over the time limit of 5 minutes and Danielle is ill and unable to come this week so Yasmin had a smart idea to use silhouettes to show the confrontation of Ruby and Amelia. I had been wondering for the past few weeks if there were any more elements of film noir that we could incorporate and I think this is perfect. We decided that me and Yasmin would step in for our actors since it’s only shadows and the props would distinguish who was who clearly. We both decided on where to put our lighting in order to get the best shadows and then began filming as we both did some actions so that we would cast our shadows onto the wall. I think it’s really effective and it works really well. However it does mean that we will need to record a new voiceover for Ruby explaining what happened. I have written this voiceover for Ruby and I think it will work really effectively and is a much better representation of her character.

We edited a few shots and I noted down all that we were missing which isn’t much – a shot of Harry that we are missing, the new voiceover for Ruby which I have written and a shot of Gracie-Lou walking – however this will only be of her feet which looks much better than it sounds! J We filmed a friend of mine posing for Gracie as she walked down a corridor, both Yasmin and I took turns to film different shots. We know that shadows are a prominent feature in film noir and so we also captured the walking shadow which looks really good. We transferred the footage onto the Macs and agreed to meet up at 9:15 tomorrow so we could edit the rest and add music and do as much as humanely possible.

2^nd April 2009

I arrived at college at 9am a little earlier than I had planned with Yasmin – what can I say, I’m very eager! I decided not to waste time and began to see if there was anything that was needed that we had missed, there were a few things such as music that I thought could be moved to a different scene as Yasmin had added it yesterday. Once Yasmin had arrived I discussed what I thought with Yasmin and she agreed with me. Once we had edited what we had filmed from yesterday we began looking for more music to add to the film and sound effects that were needed: a gunshot and a train whistle. While the computer was loading (the Macs don’t have iTunes so we had to use a normal PC) I kept searching for effects that would be suitable to use for some of the flashbacks. I found a really good one from the blur selection and both Yasmin and I agreed it worked really well. I added that to the majority of the flashbacks and it looks really good and will mean that the audience will be able to see even better that those particular scenes are flashbacks.

Yasmin and I had already researched into music ages ago and we both used the same website called freeplaymusic.com which is a really useful website and we used that again today. We found four pieces of music that were pretty good and fitted in well with the film noir genre. We also found some gunshot sounds and transferred everything onto the Macs. We incorporated this into the film and it works perfectly, the final scene is completed and I got to say that it does look really good, there’s one tiny shot that I think could be better but with the time constraints and a cruddy location I think it works (given the circumstances). We have to dub Harry (played by Joe) and Amelia’s (played by Danielle) scene as something was wrong with the boom and we have interference with the sound, it’s so bad that in some shots you can’t even hear the actors. We began editing and it took a while to get everything matching up so that it looks right; it was also slightly harder as our actor for Harry changed the line slightly from when I recorded his dubbing a while ago to when we filmed the scene but with some clever thinking and clever editing we overcame the problem, Yasmin kept dubbing the last bit of the scene while I went to get the camera from Reiner so that I could quickly film Harry’s scene that we are missing which is him walking through the corridor. I collected Joe from his class, got him his shirt and began filming. It’s a fairly small scene and it didn’t take very long to film. Once I had finished filming I planned to transfer the footage to the Macs.

Yasmin had to leave a little earlier as she had a photography exam so I decided to capture the footage I had just shot as Yasmin had finished dubbing the last bit of Harry and Amelia’s scene. However unluckiness struck me (no surprise there then) and while I was transferring the footage Final Cut Pro cut unexpectedly. I re-launched the program however our last save had not been kept (no surprise there then) and everything we had done had disappeared meaning that we would have to do it all again (no surprise there then). It’s so annoying and so I called Yasmin quickly and told her I what happened and that I would be going back during my lunch to catch up on what we had lost in the morning, Yasmin said she would do the same and so we agreed to meet for a working lunch.

We caught up on everything we were missing and edited everything we had lost; we were much faster this time around because we had done it all before. They do say practice makes perfect. I talked to Kimberley (who plays Ruby) and told her that we would need to record her voiceover tomorrow and I also spoke to Danielle (who plays Amelia) and told her we would also need to record her dubbing tomorrow. We showed Reiner the film so far to see if he could point out any things that need improving, there’s a few things but we wrote them all down so that we’ll be able to do that tomorrow and make sure our film looks really professional and something of good quality (as I have no doubt it will be J). I also created the CD cover for the film once it has been put onto DVD, I think it looks really good and fits in with our film nicely but I guess I’m a little bias.

Our class only starts at 11:15am but Yasmin and I have agreed to come in at 9:30am and Steph said she could join us at 10am. Our checklist for tomorrow is to transfer the footage I filmed today, film and transfer Ruby’s new voiceover and film and transfer Amelia’s dubbing; if technology wasn’t always malfunctioning around us and people weren’t always letting us down our group would be done by now; but what can I say? You play with the cards you’re dealt and I left today feeling really proud and really happy because the film is looking amazing and we will definitely finish before the deadline (touch wood: I don’t want to jinx anything). There’s only a teeny bit more to do and a few finishing touches to perfect it and we should produce an entertaining and effective film. Woo hoo!!