Commentary On Planning/Filming Process

• During the planning process, we adapted and completely changed our ideas numerous times. Even on the day of filming, we had to adapt certain parts of our final storyboard, due to them not working when actually put into practice.
• We ended up having to re-film all of our footage, as our first attempt of filming the original story board gave bad quality results, which we were not satisfied with. This was down to our original instincts being we needed to make it dark to create tension. However, this is not in fact true, as the majority of films I later analysed were not dark and instead attempted to demonstrate a relatable real life situation, with the tension instead being created by the soundtrack and some kind of enigma. Making the inside of the house dark, with little lighting, resulted in grainy footage with the action barely visible.
• Originally, our opening involved an MSN conversation on the computer, which we experienced complications with during filming, encountering a number of technical difficulties. In order to execute the MSN conversation, 2 computers were required. However, on the laptop we were using as 1 of these, the Internet connection was not working properly therefore we could not sign into MSN. To overcome this problem, we had to use one of our groups blackberry, which could access MSN, but this meant the responses were less rapid. Filming this conversation proved very difficult and although we manged to do it in the end, it did not have the effect we first hoped once uploaded and edited on the Mac, with it looking amateur and unnecessary, so we decided to scrap the idea.
• During filming, we blocked out all outside light and used little lighting, as we thought this was the best way to create a sinister atmosphere typical for that of a thriller. However, we now realise that this was not in fact the best approach. Not only did it lead to almost not visible footage, it was very grainy too. We also realised when watching it back it did not seem like a realistic situation at all, as it is very unlikely a babysitter would be sitting in pitch black. We therefore agreed that in our next attempt of filming we would make much more use of lighting to ensure clearer and more realistic results.
• After our first attempt at filming, we were more familiar with the equipment and realised what worked and what did not. We then generated a whole new storyboard which I believe to be much more effective.
• Our second attempt of filming with our new and improved storyboard went much more smoothly and ensured much more effective and quality results. We did encounter a few issues on the day of filming, however nothing we could not overcome.
• At the time of filming our actress was running late and due to already being behind schedule, as well as working to a limited time frame, we decided to use another member of the group to star in the film instead, which worked just as well.
• We experienced problems due to a faulty camera, which was not able to hold its charge, meaning it had to be constantly plugged in. This was fine for the majority of the filming, due to their always being a power source close by, however proved more difficult when filming the establishing shot of the house outside. To solve this problem we had to plug the camera into a long extension lead from the garage. Due to us not being on a Hollywood film set, we had the expected interruptions such as cars driving past, car alarms going off and doors slamming. We were able to eliminate the background sound using IMovie, however had to do more takes of the shots interrupted by events such as passing cars.
• The remainder of the filming went pretty smoothly, with only the expected situations of the camera being knocked or the actress laughing, however occurrences like this even happen to the best of actresses and could quite easily be eliminated during the editing process.
• Overall, I am very happy at how our final footage turned out and believe we have some good quality shots, which if edited together effectively could create a very successful result.