Component 3 Project - Recce report: Pool | Blog Post #11 - #13

I am lucky to have a close family member that has a pool and I have their permission to film there. Honestly, the only reason that I wanted to proceed with this idea was that I knew that I had access to a filming area through them.

I’m not showing off the pool but rather the water so it’s a perfect atmosphere. Many space and filming possibilities as I can shoot above the pool easily. However, I missed out on the perfect time when it was warm enough for me to film. The temperatures are a bit all over the place currently. I don’t need it to be sunny but I need warm weather to be able to film as I might be okay with the cold by my partner might not. So there’s a high chance that I won’t film this. But I’m hopeful.

I kind of have water-resistant shooting gear. An iPhone with great camera settings and a phone bag to add more protection. I’m going for a more retro vibe to this scene and so I don’t need to get the highest quality of footage so a phone is perfect. Again, quite a short scene but it might take more than an hour with all of the prep that would need to go in before and during the shoot.

PICTURES OF THE LOCATION ARE COMING SOON

UPDATE:

I'm not using this location anymore.

Component 3 Project - Recce report: Playground | Blog Post #11 - #13

For this scene, I have decided to use the playground next to my house. Not only it’s convenient but also the colours of the playground are fun which is what I’m looking for.

However, for the shoot to work, I’ll need to make sure to go during the morning and when there’s sunlight which is a bit hard during the colder season. I’ll also have to make sure that there are no kids around because I don’t want to get any children into my film. For artistic reasons and also because I don’t have the parent’s consent to have their child in my project. I’ve been looking at the weather and the playground usage and I think I can come up with a perfect time window to film at it.

If it does not work out, I can find another playground close by which is not as busy.

It’s quite a short scene so it’ll take under 1 hour to film, we don’t really need a power source as we’re using natural lighting. Another reason that I chose this playground is that I can see it from my balcony so I can have a “crane” shot of the playground and use it as my opening scene. The atmosphere is perfect and what I’m looking for.

UPDATE:

I'm not using this location anymore.

The decision to reschedule a shoot | 29.10.2022

Today is Saturday 29th October 2022, I was supposed to film a scene for the short film today. This scene is the most ambitious yet would be the epic factor of the film. A lot of thought has gone into this particular scene as well as preparation and planning. Yet at the last minute, I decided that it would be better to reschedule the shooting or cancel this scene if the circumstances would make it difficult to film this scene.

After having my initial idea, one of the first things I thought I would want to add to the film is an underwater scene, inspired by Olivia Rodrigo’s “Traitor” music video and unintentionally Kang Daniel’s “Paranoia” music video. I had a location in mind and had envisioned the scene. There were a lot of risks and obstacles with this scene though. The weather during this time had been like a rollercoaster. Going from chilly to sunny from day to day. So there was always a 50/50 chance of being able to film this scene. Getting permission to film was also a challenge, however, my amazing mother pulled through and got everything sorted even though she initially was doubtful of my request.

The props and costumes for this scene also caused me a lot of stress. Thankfully, they arrived a day before the shoot so everything was in place and I felt excited to bring my storyboard to life. However, another problem came up. Despite getting permission, the person living there wouldn’t be there when being there during the filming because they had other plans. My semi-team mate who's also the person I go to get a 2nd opinion thankfully was still here so we could film. So I got my hopes up again and was fully ready for the shoot.

I got everything ready the morning of the shooting day. And then the last straw got pulled and I decided that it would be better to move this to another day. Initially, my brother would give me a ride to the shooting location. However, we had to reschedule the time again and again. The shoot has been pushed to later, making me lose all hope and the excitement to film disappeared. So I discussed this with my semi-team mate and we decided that we should cancel the shoot and replan the shooting for this scene.

Despite not being able to film this and there’s a slight chance that this scene would not happen, I feel really relieved that I decided to cancel the shoot. Shooting the short film should be an exciting experience yet I have been feeling nervous all day. I felt like missing one person would be less fun to film even though they did not hold an essential role in the filming, it still was a huge factor in the whole atmosphere of the shoot. The constant rescheduling also stressed me and my brother. Therefore, a rescheduling would be better for everyone involved.

I’m still hopeful. In the meantime, I would be planning the scene even more carefully than before so that it would not fall apart again.