Test shoot - Review

What went well:

• Working with the stand in actors 

Since two of our group members had to take time off to quarantine because of covid, we had to use stand it actors. This had its pros and cons but luckily for us they were very sweet and easy to work with. During the shoot the put in an effort to follow the directions that we gave them and listened to the notes that we gave them after a scene. They also didn't mind when we made an error and they had to reshoot a scene.

• Working with only two group members

Although we did struggle at some points, I think that Isabella and I worked well together as a team when it came to using our time efficiently and shooting the sequence. Although we didnt have all the props and set that we needed we used the studio as best we could to try and capture what the final product was going to look like 

What needs to be improved:

• Shot duration

After Isabella edited the final cut of the test shoot we realized that a lot of the shots that we took needed to be longer in duration. Because they were not long enough the tension was not established in a lot of the scenes and it didn't communicate the eerie vibe that the sequence is supposed to have.

• Timing 

We did not meet the two minute marker that we needed to reach for the test shoot. Since our clips were not long enough, our final test shoot product was only forty five seconds instead of two minutes 

• Location

Since we didn't have access to Stu’s flat, which is the location that we wanted to use, we had to use the studio. This means that the overall vibe that we were going for location wise was not  achieved in the plain studio. 

• The mirror shot

Originally we planned to use the studio to do the test shoot in so that we could test out different angles for the mirror shot that we wanted to do. The original shot that we wanted to do was that the child's reflection is not shown in the mirror. However, The mirror that was in the studio was too small for us to practice this shot. So we just decided to cut the shot from the narrative as it was to much of a give away. 

• Actors

Although the stand in actors that we had for the test shoot were lovely to work with, it obvoiusly was difficult for them to understand the narrative and vision that we had for the film as they were not there during the planing process of it. This resulted in some scenes not feeling exactly as we had hoped them to be 

• Props

Since we were in the studio we also did not have access to all the props that we would need for the final product. We did our best to use stand in props such as a paper towel roll for a kettle, and a board game that we found in our teachers classroom. 

a lot of work needed to be done after our test shoot to develop the idea. We have chosen scenes such as the scene where the father and daughter are playing a board game to extend, as we feel that scene will establish the tension the best if given time. 

After reviewing the test shoot we have also discussed things like where we are going to put the titles within the sequence and what point they are going to appear at. Overall, even though our test shoot brought out a lot of flaws in our opening sequence, it really helped us to review those flaws and improve our idea.