what we did today

Today we began filming our first scenes: primarily the bedroom scene and the scene in which Hannah is drawing. We started off filming quick footage of me sleeping in bed and then waking up staring at the ceiling which provides a sense of ambiguity  as the audience doesn't know what is going on. We took the same shot several times as we wanted to have the best shot possible therefore having more than one would mean that we have more to choose from. The lighting was a key concept in this particular shot as well as we wanted to reflect that it was night time but that was problematic in itself as if the lighting was too dark then we wouldn't be able to see our filmed footage. In the end we used a dimming switch to provide a natural lighting which interestingly gave the camera a fuzzy blurry quality- almost static. This actually worked quite well as it looked quite naturalistic which is the effect we were going for as it contrasts against the surrealistic narrative which we have composed.We also experimented with a tripod camera to see what effect this would have on the shots but unfortunately we werent entirely sure as to how to use it in the best manner. This shows us that we need to practice how to use this camera as we don't want all of our shots to be filmed hand held. Our next shot was of a teddy bear which was to reflect the childhood innocence of my character and again we played around with lighting: this time as well as a dimming switch we also used a bedside lamp. This was very effective as it bathed the bear in an orange glow and was again quite blurry. This followed into a transition of an eye line match between me and the bear where the conceptualisation of Mise-en-scene took place as i used facial expressions. The shot showed me looking frightened as though i know something bad is going to happen which makes the audience sympathize with my role and also leaves them feeling tense.We then went into Charley's living room where we did Hannah's scenes. Our first shot was of Hannah drawing a picture which comes to life later on in the film. This consisted of a hooded figure[ Zoe] immersed in mist and clouds with ' It's coming' in scratch messy writing . This is to represent how Hannah is the controller of both me and Zoe and how I become possessed due to the control  she is inflicting upon me. This also links in with the title of our film 'Puppet Strings'. To give an eerie effect to the film Hannah ensured that she wrote very heavily so as to create a scratchy, rasping noise. Charley then used zoom reverse zoom to enhance the picture which transcended into a similar shot of her drawing again but minus the writing and an additional of me in the background looking at her. To represent the artistic feel of the scene  Hannah wore a checkered black and white shirt and waistcoat which almost gave her a sense of normality despite the evilness of her character. Her face was also in side profile to giver her a sense of mystery. We finished off our filming session by taking a prop shot list. I also thought it would be a good idea if we uploaded our footage we have done today to show our work in progress although there is 10 minutes of footage. Zoe also acted as director and told me and Hannah the best positions to be in for the shots.