FILMINGDIARY: Shoot Day #2

Yesterday was my shoot day! After a lot of script and location changes the day finally arrived and we set off to the location in Talbot woods, just 5 minutes from AUCB.
The film, based on the painting by Max Leiberman 'Memorial Service for Kaiser Friedrich at Kosen':

The scripts for this particular film were all very different to one another due to artistic differences between the Director and the Writer therefore my research has fluctuated significantly for each! However, the final script which I recieved on Sunday morning had just 7 characters; one principle and 6 extras.
The shoot day itself ran fairly smoothly but did go on longer than everyone anticipated. There were a lot of tracking shots and these take a long time to set up and move (but create a really nice effect on screen). An element of this shoot that differed to the previous was that there was no make-up student on set! One of my extra's voulenteered to do make-up, which was fantastic as I'm not so great but I was charged with doing the actress' hair. This was fine aside from the continuity when scenes were shot out of sequence. But we kept a lot of photo's to document this and it all seemed to work out very well!

 As before, I took A LOT of photo's

on set to document the day:

5 of my extras!

By the end of this shoot day I was totally exhausted but I felt so satisfied with how the day went. My film was the only one of the 7 chosen that had real continuity to deal with, over the space of about 8 script day and I feel that this was the main obstacle I faced but with the help of the continuity photographer, my wonderful assistant (Georgia Jeffery) and a brilliant actress the day went very smoothly!

'Memorial' Shoot Setting

The setting location for the 'Memorial' shoot was chosen quite early on in the production process due to the painting and therefore script being set in a forest.
The initial location that was chosen was The Great Yews in Salisbury. They are in a stunning national park and would have been perfect for this shoot. A bonus factor of these woods was that all of the Yew trees are dead and poisoned so look skeletal and their sap is a dark crimson colour and seeps out of the bark, reminiscent of blood. (this is alluded to in the script)

 Unfortunately, the day before shooting was due to commence, it was discovered that the woods were not practical for filming and that the national park had not given permission for them to be used.
Therefore another option was necessary.
The woods that were used in the final film were Talbot Woods, just over the road from uni, I wasn't even fully aware just how large they were and I think they will work just as well in the final cut of 'Memorial':

While the Yew forest would have been spectacular I feel that Talbot Woods worked just as well and with editing and grading the overall finish will look great!

Filming Costume Research #3 pt 3

THE FUNERAL PARTY
I have already decided to ask thee male extras to provide their own costumes where possible as it is hard to source contemporary suits for free and I'm sure everyone has something to wear. As this is a funeral of a young girl, the guests will also be young and therefore dressed more casually as it has been described by the Director as an Atheist funeral. In my communications with the extras so far I have suggested anything black/grey/brown leaving them the option to wear Vans, jeans etc if they need to.
For any female extras I have searched my wardrobe for suitable outfits to lend:

Filming Costume Research #3 pt 2

This morning I had a text from the Director saying that the middle aged man and woman characters had been cut from the script. This means two less characters to dress and I can focus on 'Isabelle's costumes this afternoon.
I went to Primark for the three versions of Isabelle's over shirt. After searching around for some other dresses and shirts I found one that I thought would fit nicely into the film. A teal long shirt, the blue is a nice contrast to the earthy colours of the forest.

£8.00

So I bought 3. £.8.00 x 3= £24.00
I also bought a brown belt in the sale to add to the costume for £1.
So total outlay from the budget is £25.00 which I will claim back from the overall film budget.

Once I got the shirts home I begun to break down the two that will be for days 3 and 5.
For the breaking down I used coffee, dye, a scalpel, oil, Vaseline and scissors to create a look of extreme wear over a short period. Scratched on trees falling down, sleeping on the floor etc.

DAY 1

DAY 3

DAY 5

AND DAY 8 we will break down the day 5 costume on set with mud from the surrounding areas to add authenticity. I am really happy with how these shirts have turned out and I can't wait to see them on screen!

Filming Costume Research #3 pt 1

After the most recent phone call with the Director, the character list has changed once again to three principles and 10 funeral guests. Now it is all to be set contemporary which makes dressing the funeral party a lot easier as I will try to ask the extras themselves to supply their own outfit. The three principle characters are now, a 19 year old girl, and a middle aged man and woman (see script)
For the girl we discussed how she should be dressed prepared for a day/two day hike in the woods, not for a week as she will end up. due to this I suggested denim shorts with black tights and trainers (preferably converse) a black vest top, a lilac hair scarf, a grey hoodie and a over shirt. Due to it being set contemporary I will use most of my own clothes for the character of 'Isabelle' and will only source three identical over shirts which I will break down. I have already collected the other elements of the costume:

The middle aged man and woman are to be guests at the funeral at the end (the mother and family friend of the dead girl) therefore they will be in black, quite formal due to their relationship with the deceased. Once the two actors have be confirmed I will attempt to see if they have suitable clothes themselves before I source anything. To keep costs down I will try and add to their costumes using the costume store archive.

FILMINGDIARY: Shoot Day #1

Shoot #1 was the film on which I assisted the Costume Designer on the day. I also got involved in the pre-production as much as I could, attending numerous meetings with the Director and the entire crew.
This film was based on the painting by Seurat 'The Bridge at Courbevoie' (1886-87):

The script (which I have included in my film file) was very deep and serious, a tense group of scenes centralised around a girl and her estranged father. As this was all set over a few hours there was only one costume for each character and no element of continuity aside from keeping the costumes arranged the same for each take.

our call time was 7.45 at uni, and I had to pick up both the actors and the designer before this. Once we had arrived at the destination for the first scene there was a long wait for all the kit to be set up and hair and make up to be applied on both actors.

I took a lot of photos to document my day:

 

I have included my continuity sheets in my Film file, but I will leave them off the blog to respect the privacy of the two actors.

'Bridges' Shoot Setting

The location for 'Bridges' was determined very early on in the pre-production of the film. The storyline made it necessary for there to be a train line near by, a bay in the distance and for the surrounding area to be marshland. The setting that the Director found was near perfect!

 

 The weather on the day was not ideal for the mood of the story as we had hot sunshine for most of the afternoon and spent a great deal of time waiting around for cloud coverage! But when it was right the look of the shots that I saw thought the monitor looked brilliant. The setting of this film added a whole new level to the plot line.

Filming Costume Research #2

After the second production meeting yesterday the characters were altered quite significantly in terms of numbers, age and gender! I can only keep the research from one character, the little girl as the other principles, the 4 band men have been cut. Now the principle characters in the script are the a little boy, his grandma and a little girl. The following are my mood boards for these three characters:

The funeral party consisting of approximately 10 people will be a challenge as the Director is still want it to be an Amish funeral and the hats/headresses will be rather difficult to source but it will all be black wich makes it slightly easier.