Post 19. Test shots

For the final post of our research and planning, we decided to take a couple of test shots from multiple locations, in order to get a better idea of whether or not we would like to change anything. We only made test shots in two of the locations we filmed in, as it would’ve been quite challenging to go all the way to the field on multiple ocassions.

Location 1: The pub

Shot 1:

• Edit: For the first scene, we had originally filmed test shots in the designated location. However, as I’ve mentioned in one of my later posts, we were obligated to change our location last minute due to some issues. All of this was covered in the Additional post: Problems encountered. Therefore, we took some test shots while at the final filming location on the third day of filming.
• We found the ideal location for filming when we got to the pub. We took a seat at one of the tables and began reviewing the shot list. We then began taking the test shots and had a group discussion about them.
• In order to move forward to the scenes for which we were currently unsure of how to shoot, we first determined which scenes we had already planned. For instance, even though we already knew what we wanted the ECU of Luca’s eyes to look like, we only decided on the final composition upon taking some test shots and going over all of our options together.

We liked that Finn turned to face Ivy in the second shot, even though his body was hidden. This enhances the shot’s depth and continuity compared to the earlier scene in which he turns around.

We also attempted an image in which he was completely facing Ivy, but we didn’t think it was suitable or seamless. After recording everything we discussed and decided that the positions that Luca had opposing Stefi and Mara, should remain the same in the second.

Shot 2:

We had to film an ECU of Mara’s eyes bei9ng closed for this scene. Then, she had to gently open them, but we weren’t sure if we wanted to film this with a flash, from a distance with a lot of zoom, or up close with less zoom. Therefore, we began by filming one with zoom and flash, one with zoom, and one without flash.

We ended up not liking the way the flash highlighted all the imperfections on the skin and made the shot appear artificial rather than natural. We loved how the reduced zoom looked. We also compared zoom and less zoom once again to see if using the flash had an impact on the shots’ appearance. We decided to use less zoom and chose the second option as our final choice for test shot Naturally, we loved how the no flash shots looked, and they made the entire scene feel more genuine.

Shot 3:

For this third scene, we wanted to figure our what type of composition we wanted to use for our shot. We initially planned it as a two shot, however, we ended up being unsure about whether or not we wanted the secondary character to appear fully on screen, or have her slightly cropped out to emphasize the protagonist.

Ultimately, after going over the footage, we decided that we preferred the one where Stefi was slightly cropped out, as it allows the audience to focus on the protagonist’s reactions and emotions in the scene, although compositionally it would not be as correct.

Shot 4:

For this shot, we wanted to see what type of over the shoulder shot we should film, zoomed in or not zoomed in. We wanted to do so to test out what each one of them would look like, and to check if the zoomed in option would convey Ivy’s emotions more directly, allowing the audience to focus more on her emotions, rather than the conversation between the two.

Upon reviewing the footage, we decided that the shot without zoom looked best, as it appeared to be more natural which would help keep the audience engaged rather than making the shot look unappealing.

Location 2: Luca’s bedroom

For this portion of the film opening, there weren’t many constraints on how we should position the camera, as the shots were mostly static. We instead aimed to focus more on the effect of color and editing in the transition between the second and the third scene, therefore the only issue with location and compositions was not making the room appear too busy.

For this shot we had two position options for the camera, one completely facing the bed, and another at the side of the bed.

Upon discussing, we decided that the second option would be much better to use for this shot as the room added depth to the composition, and prevented the light from looking flat.

*We did not end up taking any test shots from the field scene, as getting to the field would have been quite tricky, which is why we were a little less prepared when filming it. However, we did end up collaborating extremely well during that scene, even with all the problems that we encountered, and it led to some great results in the end.