Note: I didn't take many pics on this final day, my phone was flat and Lachlan's extensive shots would probably capture most of the lighting shenanigans better!
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| The Shot List for the final day. |
This was one of the longest days of the production because it was to be our last, we had the gallery space booked, the equipment and the crew and it all had to be done within nine hours. We had a few shots we had to pick up from yesterday, practical effects involving a bed sheet and some uncooperative fake blood. Başak and I had spent a little time the day prior setting up a way we thought the bed sheet might be installed so we could pull off the effect of it being the wall. Today we also had a tour of students who had been ousted from their normal class spaces to present their photography work in the gallery. We had to be quiet, they had to be quiet and no one was happy. We worked around it and the lovely technicians diverted the students to the spaces just outside the gallery in the foyer.
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| Our original setup for the sheet. |
A crazy revelation near the end of the shoot was that most of the crew hadn't seen the script, only the storyboards which meant they were confused (along with our producer!) of what was going on and obviously that caused a lot of strife and probably left them wondering most of the time what the fuck they were doing. From the storyboards alone it's not very clear what's happening in this scene, because at one point we're meant to see Alex's double looking back at herself, the wall has to become a linen sheet for Alex to pass through, and it's all very confusing!
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| The wall becomes a linen sheet, revealing a second room that's the same as the first. |
Eventually Danny found a way to rig the sheet up to some C Stands with clamps from which we could position the sheet at the small entrance to the room acting like a doorway. This was where we had to trick some of the shots because the sheet wasn't sitting against the other side of the wall, it didn't reach or look good that way. Alex, gaffers and anyone nearby had to hold the sheet as flat as possible just outside the frame and Alex had to have her body positioned and her hand floating in order to give the illusion of it being the wall.
A lot of the time it's about compromise, we didn't have time to faff about (even though we did faff about), we had cameras that ate batteries, memory that was bloated and little time to shoot on location. Cut shots, combine them with others, do multiple shots in one take etc. As the day went on it forced us to go with as few takes as possible, with exceptions. Nikki and Ramin frustratingly went through the shot list and storyboards seeing where they could film multiple shots in a batch - did it have the curtain (linen sheet), the blood, or the wall?
After we finished in the White Room we packed up all the equipment we weren't going to use and took a few bits and bobs on a trip to the final location of the shoot - the creepy tree. Nikki postulated that the tree must've been the work of art students past, or the den of the resident hobos or students who go there to do drugs. It's this tepee-shaped structure of various branches that have been stacked around a smaller, central tree and at night with the lighting provided by Danny, looked suitably ominous, a location straight out of The Blair Witch Project.
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| The tree in the storyboards. |
Başak, Alex and I followed a trail down into the wooded area near the campus whilst the others packed the equipment, out there we could only see the faint lights of other people taking the trail with only the light of their phones to guide the way. Danny had already gone down to the location and set up a light with special filters, a cool blue that looked terrifying and otherworldly and made the tree look like some twisted nightmare.
Sadly, I had to dash three shots into the final scene as I had to leave to get home. My time on the shoot has been something of an experience, you never really know how much of the film is shaped until you're there helping set the shots and seeing the takes, talking with Basak about what's best and where we can make compromises. My presence on the set was akin to an observer, I sat back most of the time and observed the craft, occasionally stepping in to make suggestions, or make a fool of myself! As I had mentioned in my first diary post, it's a frustrating experience too, because there's obviously a lot had I been directing, that would be different. For this project I had to align my vision with Basak's and grit my teeth when we didn't take advantage of a good setup. I managed to get a few shots in that were my suggestions which I was happy about, it wasn't to go against Basak, only to help her see her film come to fruition.
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A special thanks to the crew who were all wonderful and professional, there wasn't a time when they were unsure or weren't working at the top of their game, everyone brought their knowledge of the equipment which helped bring our vision to life. Thank you to our actress, Alex, who cooperated and never once showed how fed up she must've been, we spent hours making her stand around forcing her to touch walls and fall over, snort fake blood and it all turned out brilliantly. A huge thank you to Nikki who handled everything with restraint and style and made sure we were all on track, our shadow director! Thank you to Başak without whom I wouldn't have had the chance to add my creative skills to this production, even though directing doesn't seem like her thing, she always was very respectful and understanding and was determined to have her vision come to life. Finally I have to thank Ramin, when I was asked to come on and help do the storyboards, we didn't fully know or understand Başak's vision, but we stuck through it and I have to give him props for pulling this entire production off!
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I don't know what's next for me film wise, the whole process has really helped me get back into the mindset of making films. Not long ago I chose to pursue my art career and gave up my filmmaking aspirations because of the sacrifice both options afforded. Filmmaking is a gamble, on all the strength of your ideas, the writing, the budget and the time you have - it's not a lucrative business until you get off the ground and become recognized. For me, I chose to study art because it was the one area I'm confident in and know a little bit about, I'd stick to the art side and that will hopefully lead back into film one day where the two worlds inevitably meet. You need storyboard artists, illustrators and concept artists, set designers, costume designers, an art department, and not just for film, that goes for television, animation and video games too.
Next year I'm doing my Honours Year with a few ideas already blossoming on what to produce, something in a similar vein to Cabbage Pot, something Stop Motion perhaps, we'll see...
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