Firestone shoot.

As it's a film trailer and we are only to include snippets of action from throughout the film,  we wanted to film in several different locations to show the progression of time. Because we intended to film a fight scene we needed to film somewhere quite remote as to not disturb the public and that people wouldn't mistake our stage combat for serious harm. Mel and I decided to film at Firestone Copse Forest, we decided we can use the area to our advantage in filming creating use of the trees and the colouring of the shots for example hidden within the drees the shots were darkened I fell the darkness works well to symbolise the darkness within the action of the shots while we see the forces of good and evil battle.

Bella took us though some stage combat she had learnt during her experience over the summer at New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts (NYCD), we then adapted these to perceive a realistic look when we viewed the footage later on on a larger computer screen. Mel and I then attempted to shoot several stage combat techniques in a variety of shots ranging from 'CU'-'LS' all tried out at different angles to see which would capture most light and which would make it look most realistic.



0.00-0.08- Zooming out establishing shot.
0.08-0.17- Over shoulder shots.
0.38-0.42- Low angled 'MS'.
0.43-0.55- Low angled 'CU'. -Creates authority and power.

0.56-1.08- These are standard 'MS' Which don't work very well due to the dark natural lighting, we could have attempted to include artificial lighting but unfortunately we are on a low budget. Using the Adobe creative suite Mel and I are going to attempt to lighten these clips.

1.08-1.12- Dark over shoulder shots.

1.17-1.21- This is my favourite shot Mel and I captured due to the angling, this action shot is to capture an under punch, where the hand comes up from underneath towards the chin, forcing the opponents head to fling back from impact. Filming this from the side we would see that the hand and chin never actually make contact so supporting the name of the 'under punch' I thought it would be better to film this from beneath so Mel positioned the camera below the actors by their feet creating a style of 'MS' and angled it upwards about 80°. This captures the remaining natural lighting through the treetops. I really love this effect especially how it becomes visible as Henry flings his head back from the impact of the shot. I also appreciated the actors effort to work with us and really characterise with sound effects and emotion.

1.25-1.32- Standard 'LS' however as this was the last shot we took the darkness had now fully taken over making it almost impossible to view.

Problems we encountered and how we over came them:
-As we filmed in the middle of winter and the clocks were moved forwards an hour it became alot darker much sooner in the day at about 4:30pm
We filmed as soon as we finished school to take full advantage of the remaining natural lighting.
-Costume detail wasn't so visible.
Painting over the brighter colours to increase the visibility.
-Health and Safety around the woodland area.
Checking the location we decided to film in and removing any objects around that may cause harm, damage or injury.
-The tripod not standing steady on the uneven ground.
Creating a steady platform to place on the ground which then the tripod can stand upon.