03/10/11
Today we were given the task of remaking the opening sequence of the film, The Hangover. The introduction of a film is really important in engaging the audience and helping them to understand the main storyline of a film. We got into groups of six and started thinking about how we could prepare each stage of production. We agreed to swap roles throughout different days of filming so that we would each get a chance to try out different techniques.
We need to cast the main characters: Tracy, Phil, the bride's mother and father; as well as finding or acting as extras. We are going to aim to find people who look like the original actors, as this will help identify the opening as The Hangover.
Main props:
- Flowers (Meg)
- Van (Beatrice)
- Bridal dress (Meg)
- Mannequin (Me)
- 3 Bridesmaid dresses (Me)
- Wedding cake (Alice)
- Hair brush (Lily)
- Small, standing mirror (Beatrice)
- Magazine/newspaper (Caitlin)
- Mobile phone
- Car (Georgie)
- Sunglasses
09/10/11
Alice, Georgie and Caitlin film the clips with Phil for Meg, Lily, and me to edit later. Alice found us a cake and filmed the clip for us.
16/10/11
Actors used:
Tracy: Vicky Cook
Tracy's Mum: Caitlin's Mum
Tracy's Dad: Caitlin's Dad
Bridesmaid 1: Lily
Bridesmaid 2: Caitlin
Bridesmaid 3: Georgie
Bridesmaid 4: Beatrice
To prepare for another day of filming, I figured out a list of the clips still needing to be filmed, and when the actors would be needed...
- Flowers taken from van
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- Dresses
- Chairs being moved ready for ceremony
- Mum looking out of the window
- Tracy, hair being brushed by Bridesmaid 1. Dad and Bridesmaid 2 are sat in the background.
- Mum walks over to Tracy
- Tracy, hair being brushed by Bridesmaid 1. Dad and Bridesmaid 2 sat.
- Mum and Tracy
- Dad and Bridesmaid 2
- All (Tracy, mother, Bridesmaid - hair, Bridesmaid's 3 and 4 sat on sofa. Camera behind the head of the father and Bridesmaid 2) Dresses positioned in background.
- Dad and Bridesmaid, flowers
- Mum and Tracy (back of head)
- Tracy, hair being brushed by Bridesmaid 1, Dad, Bridesmaid 2
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- Tracy, phone call
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- Tracy on phone, walking. Mum watching. Bridesmaid 1, 2, 3, and 4, Dad
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- Tracy on phone, Mum
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- Tracy on phone, Mum
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- HANGOVER
We filmed all of the clips in the hotel at Park Farm (with permission found by Alice). It was a great venue because it was beautifully decorated, and often used for weddings and similar events. The large area gave us space to film and set up the scene as close to the original as possible. It helped make the film look much more realistic.
During the day of filming, I had the job as Director. I had to make sure that the actors knew what they were doing and indicate any movements or gestures that we needed from them. Behind the camera, me, Alice, and Meg set up the scene. We discussed what needed filming as a group, and regularly watched the film introduction on Caitlin's laptop so that we could try to copy the framing. We filmed the long distance shots with all of the actors first, and then did the close ups. To make sure that we had everything, we shot the conversation in one long clip, with Georgie replying as the part of Phil.
One of the main problems was lighting. The Bridal dress shot was far too dark, and we didn't have long to set it up. To avoid this problem in the future, a lamp should be brought on the day of filming for when necessary. We hoped that we would be able to brighten it up later using the editing software.
The day went well, and we completed everything we had set out to film. Now we only needed to film the chairs as they are set out in the introduction. It was a great day of filming because we knew what we needed to do, and were able to complete each task quickly and efficiently. We worked well as a team because we all worked in a similar way, and everyone was looking forward to getting to the next stage of the task and being able to watch what we had produced.
17/10/11 - 21/10/11
Me, Meg and Evie finished the last section of filming: the layout of the chairs. As we had struggled to find an outside area, we decided to film it in the North Hall at school. We pulled across the curtains to make the scene look more realistic, and avoided shots that gave away props from school.
Lily, Meg, and me spent the week leading up to the deadline editing the footage. First, we divided the clips and picked out the best and most realistic. We began cutting short sections of film and placing them together as necessary. I learnt how to split the image and the sound, so that we could make cuts showing the response of someone talking to the speaker. One of the biggest problems we found was fitting in the audio next to the sound of the wind in the sections with Phil. We came across odd gaps of silence that didn't seem genuine. We extended the audio to try to fill in these gaps, and used subtle fades to make them less obvious in certain areas. We often had to change the volume of the audio to make sure that everyone was talking at a similar level, and could be easily understood.
I was pleased with the final outcome of the editing because we managed to fit the clips and audio in accurately; including the music at the start and end. I really enjoyed the whole process, and we managed to finish just in time for the presentation of our movie openings. One of the more difficult parts of the editing process was altering the colouring in the scene. Were we given more time, I would have liked to have spent longer considering colours and tones. I think this would have helped our work to look more proffessional, and closer to the original. Particularly in the clips with the dress and cake, we could have improved the image by giving it a bright, white shading, which would tie in with the wedding scenery. Despite this, I was really pleased with how we had managed to place the clips, making appropriate changes (such as mirroring the close-ups of Tracy which I had filmed the wrong way, without time to re-shoot) to make it closer to the original.
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