Bettie Perry – DVD Cover

Today Ben produced the DVD cover for Bettie Perry, which is due to be handed in this Friday (30th April).  We all agreed that Ben should do this because he has the most experience at using Adobe Photoshop.  Here are the three examples of what he produced:

Example 1:

What I liked about this example is the credits on the back of the DVD makes it look professional looking.  However, I do feel that actors names on the front are hard to read and should be changed to a different colour.  I also think that the ‘Disheveled Productions logo should be made smaller.

Example 2:

In my opinion, I like the fact that the back cover looks less cluttered but I am not sure with how the credits are presented as they are not how you expect see them on DVD’s.

Example 3:

In my opinion, I feel that this example doesn’t look like a professional cover as it is missing key things such as credits, logos and running time information.  These things are key to include in order for it to look like a DVD that you would buy in the shop.

Final Version:

I really like the front cover on this version because it is only when you look on the back of the DVD you know what the film is about.  This in my opinion adds to the mysterious aspect of it.  However, I do think the ‘running time’ logo should be made smaller as well as including the credits like in example one.

Interim Critique – 27/4/2010

So today was our second interim critique for Bettie Perry, and basically it was a three-hour session with the other students in the video drama cluster group in which everyone showed their final project and received feedback. 

When it was time to show our movie the edit wasn’t complete with little things missing or needing to be corrected.  In my opinion, this wasnt exactly a disaster because we all knew this.  The point of today was just to get an idea of what needed to be altered before Friday’s deadline to make this project even more of a success than it had been already.  When it was time for us to receive feedback from the rest of the group, we barely received any comments, and what is more concerning is that we were also the only group that got no feedback from our lecture Steve Dawkins.  This is something that can either be a good thing or a bad thing, and this is something we will have to wait and see about judging by our final marks.

In terms of the other students work, I thought Joannes film was by far the most interesting as it had me hooked right from when the film started to when the credits came up at the end.  It was such a powerful story that had you gripped and also made you think a bit too.  This is something that was missing in most peoples projects.  I also quite liked the short film Qubul, because although the storyline was OK, what got my attention was technically how it was shot, which made it feel like a scene from a big-screen movie.

Editing – Edit One

Tara will be taking the role of editing the film as she as the greatest experience in this area, although Ben has experience in this department also but will sadly be away during the time scheduled for editing this project. I will not have any physical effect on the editing process but we will all be keeping regular contact with Tara incase we are needed to help and also to ensure it is done on time, and the look of the film is how we all want it to be.

After watching the first edited version of Bettie Perry, we agreed that there are shots which need tightening up but this is something, given time we can fix before the deadline at the end of this month.  It looks a lot more professional and cinematic than what I thought it would be, which has made me relax that little bit more.  After meeting with the rest of the group, Tara said she had some issues with widescreen and sound in places that need looking at but at this moment in time I am very pleased with how the first edit looks.

Shoot Day Four – Coundon Court School

Yesterday we arrived at Coundon Court School to shoot our final day of filming for Bettie Perry.  After doing the location recce for this building, I felt confident that the other members of the group would like it.  We were greeted by Paul O’Brien and also the caretaker of the school, who said if we wished, we could also film in the reception.  The reception was a beautiful part of the school with lovely columns and it also had a lovely stairway, which in another type of film would have been wonderful to use.  The group decided that it wasn’t very ‘schooly’ and reminded us of scenes from the Harry Potter movies, and so we filmed in the part of the school that I had previously agreed with Paul.

 We set up the equipment quite quickly and after missing the third day of shooting I could tell that the group was getting organised more quickly than in previous days of shooting, which was quite pleasing as we had a limited time in which we could use this building for.  In my opinion, what I liked about the scene in which we were shooting between ‘Max’ and ‘Bettie’ was that you could see after spending numerous days with each other, the characters had certain chemistry with each and so this made the scene look even better.  The timing to complete the filming for this scene took just over an hour, which was very pleasing as we had what we wanted and still had a massive three hours to film the final scene of the film.

To film the final scene, we used the outside of the school.  This is where ‘Bettie’ and ‘Max’ would walk into the sunset (well out of school) holding hands to live happily ever after (or say they hope).  This was quickly filmed and took just under twenty minutes.  After this had been filmed everybody on set was quite sad that it had finished.  I think that the main reason for this was because everybody had got to be friends with each other and time on the set was usually quite good.  So now, it’s time to put the filming equipment away and move onto editing this little beauty.

Overall, I can’t say a bad word about Coundon Court School, because right from when I contacted them about filming through to yesterday when they couldn’t have helped us anymore than they did.  They have been very enthusiastic about this project…. So once again thank you.

Here are some ‘Behind the Scenes’ pictures from the day’s shoot:

 

Day Three…. Or So We Thought

Today was meant to be our third day of filming, which was scheduled to take place at Blackwatch Road, Radford.  This day was going to involve filming in the street and involve ‘Bettie’, ‘Max’ and ‘Tristiana’.  Unfortunately ’the big man’ upstairs decided it should rain today and so we had to cancel the shoot.  Obviously this couldn’t be helped, but what I felt that we should have done is to have taken this into account and had a contingency plan in place.  This is something that I will definitely take into consideration in the future.

How Would I Do This?

First of all, I would keep a close eye on the television weather forecast a couple of days before I was due to shoot the relevant scenes to give me a good idea of what conditions are going to be like.

I would plan further by going on to various websites such as www.bbc.co.uk/weather and http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/, which would give me up to a weeks warning of any significant weather changes.

Anyway, back to Bettie Perry, and after this waste of a day, it was decided that we would change the script slighty and to film the street scene on our final day of shooting, which will be at Coundon Court School.

Filming – Day Three (25/3/2010)

Today was the day to get all of the house scenes done and the scene where Tristiana takes Max.  This was meant to be the day where I can finally get onto the set and have a say on how the film should be shot etc.  I had arranged to get a taxi to the location and so when I got there someone would help lift my wheelchair over the step into the house.  Unfortunately, we didnt realise how high the step was and this meant that I couldn’t get into the house…. which meant no action for me today.  I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go upstairs and film the scene in the bedroom, but was gutted that I couldn’t even take part in filming the kitchen scene.  Overall, the problem with access and getting into different types of filming locations is something that I am going to have to try to get round in the future for further projects.

Below are some ‘Behind the Scenes’ stills from the day’s filming:

Location Recce – Coundon Court School, Coventry

Today, I and Ben went to Coundon Court School, to do a location recce.  I had booked this appointment with Paul O’Brien last week, who is Facilities Manager at the school.  When I arrived at the location, I instantly knew that this was the place where I wanted the school scenes to be filmed.  It had that ‘mysterious’ and ‘haunting’ look that I think would fit with the films genre.

We were then taken around the parts of the school which I said we wanted to see in the email.  Paul was very helpful and seemed very interested in the project and talked about how he could help us while we were on the premises filming.  When he took us to his recommended part of the school, which he felt would be good for two reasons 1) because it was perfect for our script and 2) because there wouldn’t be any interference from outsiders.  This was nice to hear that he wanted the best for us. Instead of just thinking of what’s best for his school and how we can fit in.

When Paul showed us the part of the school he felt suited our requirements, I thought it was great, especially where the outside scene is to be shot.  This is because it obviously had the feel of a school, but it’s just how I imagined the scene to be after going through the script.  The corridor scene is also going to look goof because it links together with where we are going to be filming outside, so we won’t have to move equipment around the school.

After agreeing with Paul the date that we would require to use the school, I now can’t wait to film the two scenes as I know that they are going to look good.  Below is a map of where the school is:

Filming – Day Two (22/3/2010)

On Monday, we filmed the second day of Bettie Perry, which was once again at The Maudslay pub.  Unfortunately access to the set was once again a problem for me, and so my role was the same as last week, which was to show the cast the way to the room etc.  This once again disappointed me hugely because I knew that this scene would be huge in terms of the story.

After viewing the footage that was taken, I was slightly more happy because in my opinion, the scene looked very professional looking in terms of both the acting and of course the lighting and the sound quality.  However, I am still slightly concerned with how the ‘blood’ part of the scene is going to look once it has been edited.  This is because I want it to look ‘real’ without looking silly.  Overall, I am pleased with how the first two days filming have gone and we are now getting ready to film in Radford on Thursday.

Group Meeting – 18/3/2010

Today’s group meeting consisted of :

• Discussing how Monday’s filming went.
• Blocking for this forthcoming Monday’s shoot.
• Promotional ideas.
• Characters clothing.
• Looking to contact a graphic and web designer.
• Buying our website – (www.bettieperry.co.uk)

The meeting started with us blocking the shoot for Mondays shoot.  There was a few problems with where the characters should be positioned in the ‘council hall’.  This seems to have been sorted now, so everything should run smoother this week.  We also discussed peoples roles while they are on set and not to ‘step on each others toes’.  I felt that this situation needed to be sorted out sooner rather than later as it’s not fair on the other people in the room, if there is a pair arguing all the time.

Whilst watching the footage back from the first day’s shoot, it became clear that one shot had been filmed in widescreen and the others hadn’t. It raised the question we should’ve answered weeks ago, which is ‘Do we produce a film this production in widescreen or not? We then took a vote on this situation that had arisen and agreed, yes, widescreen was the way forward. 

It was decided that I would concentrate on the promotional side of the film because this is something that I can do more independently than the filming.  This is something that I am quite excited about because 1) it will be a challenge for me and 2) it is something that interests me a lot.  My first job is to contact both a graphic designer and also a web designer.  I am going to first try to see if a 2nd year graphic designer would be interested in getting involved.  I will also do this for the role of the web designer.  Another thing that I am going to look into this week is how other films have been successfully promoted to give me ideas.

In checking over costume and props we realised we needed multiple exact shirts for Malthor and Bettie as they will be coming into contact with ‘blood’ during Monday’s shoot.  We also need something to tie Max to the radiator with.  We spoke to Clifton today who was pleased with the footage we had shot on day one and was quite happy at what stage we are at.

Filming – Day One (15/3/2010)

On Monday, the first day of filming took place at the Maudslay pub in Coventry.  Now after securing the ‘perfect’ location to shoot our first scene (and scene 10, which will be filmed on the 22nd March at the same location), I knew that I wouldn’t be able to help the rest of the group as much as I would have liked to because the room was upstairs.  This made me quite disappointed because I am really excited about going into production.

My role for the day was unfortunately, waiting downstairs for the actors/actresses and also for the extras to come.  I then had to direct them to the room where filming was taking place.  Obviously this wasnt this best or most exciting role, but at least I could help in some way.  After inviting over 600 people to come and be extras in the scene, a grand total of ONE person could be bothered to attend.  This was a huge disappointment as we had 14 people saying that they would help us.  So basically that was my job completed for the day.

The next day, I had a chat with the rest of the group to see how things went and unfortunately there was a few disagreements within the group over certain issues, which doesn’t help with filming or the atmosphere on set.  I feel that we need to discuss this further before our next shoot on Monday.

I was then shown the first scenes footage and in my opinion, its exactly how I imagined it to be.  What stood out most for me while I was watching it back was the terrific lighting.  It was dark and gloomy, which made the scene intense.  Overall, I was very pleased with how the first scene looks.

Here are a few behind the scenes pictures: