DIRECTIONS UNIT: 8TH FEB TECH RUN

Since I wanted a very specific lighting style for the scene inside the pub, I decided to do a tech run a week before the shoot. I was already aware of the lighting and sound I'd get from the house and street since I have been there before. But with the pub, I didn't want to waste time on set during the shoot testing and trying to get the lighting right and we also weren't sure how to have the pub set out so I organised for myself, my DOP (Trine Hagan) and my Sound Operator (Jack Nix) to go for a tech run a week before the shoot so we could sort all of this.

Pub Layout
When we got to the pub we found that all the tables were in the corners or up against the walls. This, at first, I thought wasn't an issue. Until we set up the camera and saw that we wouldn't be able to do a shot-reverse-shot for Shaun and Ed. As well, the background was just boring. All you'd see is a window. So we moved the table more to the middle of the room so that in the background of both characters, we could have the bar and the extras in the background, helping to sell the scene and make it more interesting to watch on screen.

This worked much better and when we saw it through the camera it looked really good. As well we tested the sound at this point and we didn't have any issues with this here, it was nice and clear and no background noises apart from cars driving outside which we couldn't avoid since we can't close down the road. Once we had the pub set up we began setting up the lighting.

Lighting the pub
Going off what we had done in the lighting workshop, we set up the key light in front of the table and aimed it aside, after that we also set aside another light to bring more light. The third light we set behind the two actors to bring some more light to them and bring the set alive more.



















This lighting worked really well, this can easily be changed when moving from Shaun to Ed and lights up the background as well as the foreground. After this we moved on to the two extras who get focus in the film which is snakehips and the woman. Snakehips sits by the bar and drinks alone. Here we had an issue with shadows, when we put the key light on him and there was serious shadows behind him, we ended up putting a light to the side which helped slightly but overly exposed him. However, when we tried out the LED lighting for this section it worked much better and helped give the right exposure on him.

After we had done this we moved onto the woman. Here, the issue was with the mirror that was next to the table. We tried aiming the lights but it always caused reflections or lens flares due to the mirror. But we tried something else which was, we bounced the light from the roof which made a perfect amount of light down on our actor. It lit up perfectly in the small corner.

This tech run was very beneficial and was a really good choice as a Director as it allowed me to not only review the location but helped me to decided and set up the lighting in advance of the shoot meaning I have much more time to work with my actors on the shoot days and my crew and fully aware of what I wanted from the lighting and camera set up.

DIRECTIONS UNIT: ZOMBIE PRACTICE & BLOOD SHOT

With my production being Shaun of the Dead, I really wanted to get a make-up artist onboard so we could really get the best effect and look for the zombies. After my research into the look I wanted as well I began looking for a make-up artist. Luckily, my friend Kim Robb has been studying make-up at college and is keen to get into the Industry so I asked her to come onboard. However, Kim has never attempted zombie make-up before so we had a few testing sessions to try and get the right looked. 

So we started by making the actors face much more pale and darkening the eyes for dramatic effect, I wanted each zombie to have something different that made them stand out. Our model for this was Jemma who was one of my actual extras to be a zombie. Our issue here was Jemma wasn't comfortable with having contact lens in which meant we couldn't test the idea with having her eyes whitened. We added in a cut on her face to make it look like she'd been attacked and splattered some blood on her face as well. We then messed up her hair and began to test and practice her walking as a zombie.

We used wax to make the cuts since it was quicker than using latex but this also meant we had the possibility of the wax heating up and beginning to melt but this didn't seem to be an issue during the practice. When practicing Jemma made one of her legs limb and dragged it which really helped sell the part as well as looking emotionless and not actually looking anywhere just a fixed look. With the make-up it looked really good. Something we talked about was getting a vest top with blood on it for her and also adding more foundation to her neck and chest and we'd also have to have her hands white as well to help with it. Something else we forgot to do when making Jemma a zombie was the most important part... THE BITE. 

The bite/wound is the one thing that always sicks out and makes each zombie a little more unique. So we tested the bite on me instead. I want Jemma to have hers on her neck but for another zombie I want it on their arm. So we tried using wax again since this isn't as time consuming as latex. 

We added bruising and blood into this and it worked really well. Although you can't make out that it's a bite mark because there's no teeth marks in there, it works and it actually looks much worse than a bite mark which I liked. So we agreed to have Kim sort out some bloodied t-shirts for the zombies and that we'd try again but having the bite marks on the neck next time. 

Our next practice was on my flat mate Grace. We did the same make-up effects but added in the bite mark and a small wound on her forehead to add more to the wounds. We also tested the bite mark on the neck, which we learnt that the actors can't move their neck around too much as that will cause it to break and ruin it. This isn't a worry since I don't need the zombies to move their necks around but good to find out to make sure the actors don't mess it up once the make-up has been applied. 

With the fake blood added, hair messed up and a shirt added this looked much better than our last practice, I felt that we'd make her too pale so it looked more like face paint so this was noted down and Kim knew for the shoot. The bite mark on the neck works really well especially when we get the blood dripping down from the neck. We also added in some bruising on the neck as well as around the cuts and it just helped to really sell this as a zombie. 

Blood on the window

One of the changes that I made to my script as a director was the scene above, Shaun walking into the shop and not seeing the blood stains on the window. Although I understand that this is for a comical element, I can't help but believe that he would see this so obviously. So I changed it, so that the blood would be on a car and he would walk past a car, keeping the comedy element but just making it more believable since I've never known anyone to actually look at a car window while passing but it's always in the corner of your eye. I had already asked one of my friends if I could use their car but the issue we had was would the blood work and would it be easily removed afterwards? 

We got some of the fake blood that we were using for the zombie make-up and I covered my hands in it and draped it down my window at home. The effect looked good and then when I got a damp cloth the blood whipped off really easily and didn't leave any stains or marks. 

DIRECTIONS UNIT: ASYLUM (1996)

Edgar Wright's first work as a 'professional' Director came with his 1996 TV Series 'Asylum'. He wrote this with David Walliams. Edgar directed each episode and this was also his first time working with Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes. This work is really different from any of Edgar's other work I watched while researching into him and I didn't actually feel like I was watching his work but this was when he was still developing his directional style and talent as a Director.

Brief summery of series
Asylum is a 6 episode, mini series, about Dr Lovett, a mental health doctor who runs an Asylum. Far away from any towns or cities. Simon Pegg plays Simon (himself in a way) and is a Pizza Delivery man who is tricked into staying at this Asylum. It turns out that the patients at this Asylum have been tricked into staying there and from that have become insane rather than being like that before entering the asylum. Asylum was made 10 years after the old Victorian Mental Asylums had begun closing down and the Mental Health Act 1983 had been past, giving mental health patients the choice of care rather than being taken and locked up in Asylum's. This series jokes and makes light of that idea that patients wouldn't be allowed to leave and would be trapped here and drugged into staying and locked in cells and in some cases would become insane from the treatment of the asylums. 

Edgar's directing
Edgar's choice of actors was key for this series. All the actors in the series were British comedians and this was also a way of giving them a chance to perform as they each had their own stand-up routines and from this series they all went on to become big names in comedy. This series was sort of like a way to give everyone a chance in the industry. The actors a chance to show their stand-up comedy, the band a chance to perform, Edgar a chance to direct and Edgar and David a chance to write in comedy. But as well, the directions of the characters has been chosen well. This would have been such a sensitive subject back in 1996 that Edgar chose to have the actors act very over the top. The comedy in this series was classed as dark and with the actual Mental Asylums only being closed a few years previous. Edgar chose to make these characters over the top to help with the comedy and make it much more entertaining. As well, this works for the series since we expect comedy. But the choice of their actions not only was the choice of Edgar, but the choice of the actors. Their routines were written by each individual comedian and would work with Edgar to block out and decide how this would be acted and filmed. Each needing to go with the idea of them being a mental patient. So at times I would argue that Edgar doesn't actually have Directional control.  Each episode, Edgar and the comedians would works around how they were going to perform their routines. Some would act out a full routine as if it were a comedy stand up performance.

Others would make it more like an interview where they would tell one liners and get the jokes in that way.

Camera and editing
We don't see Edgar's classic directional style of the close up montage in this series. In fact, the camerawork seems almost, experimental for what had seen of Edgar's work. The camera is either stationary or handheld, but this will all depend on what is happening without the scene. If the scene is calm and nothing exciting or not much movement is happening we'll have the camera stationary and still. But at times where the action gets more exciting or the speed of the scene increases, we'll suddenly cut to handheld footage. This tends to be with the group sessions through the series. As well, Edgar is a big fan of cross fades through the edit. We'll always have a shot of the camera moving down the corridor of the asylum while fading between signs like 'no escaping' and sections of the asylum. This is always reminding us that we are in a mental asylum and playing on that old fear of the long and horrifying corridors in the original mental asylums.
Another technique that Edgar chose was to have footage of the 'patients' in their cells but have it so it's like we're watching them through CCTV. So there wouldn't be sound with it and it would be in black and white.

This just helping the idea of being in a mental asylum and to give the idea that we're observing these people. I think it also adds to the darkness of the comedy with the idea that someone is always watching and we can actually see these people slowly going insane.

Lighting
The lighting with this series is key. Although this is a comedy show. The lighting choices have been done with the classic style of horror in mind. When all the friends are together, lighting is bright, almost colourful and brings emotions of happiness or calm to the scene, which helps bring out the laughter.

However, with scenes where we'd see Dr Lovett (the villain of this series) we'd get a slightly darker lighting to help show us this villain and with scenes here, the comedy can become very dark so this helps to create that atmosphere. But not too much that it takes away from the comedy of the programme.

LIGHTING WORKSHOP: BRINGING THE SCENE ALIVE

The biggest scene I have for lighting is the scene inside the pub between Shaun and Ed. Below is a photo of how the lighting looks in the original film:

The lighting is very orange and tungsten. Which is classic for a pub, I've worked in pubs since I was 16 and I've never really seen a pub with white lights, it's always very orange and warm lighting in pubs and also you can see in the photo above. It's like little pockets of lights, so you aren't completely lit and it's never directly above you. It's more like pockets of light around the pub which helps to light up the area. As you can see not all of their faces and bodies are lit up but this is what is expected in a pub.

Here are 2 photos from different pubs but as you can see, the lighting is almost exactly the same. It's always been the way pubs are lit to give a warm and homely feel to the customers. It's also not as blinding or harsh to look at as bright white lighting. So with this I also wanted to get this type of lighting for my film. So in our lighting workshop I tried to get this look with the Arri Lighting since that is also Tungsten lighting.


I started by setting up a basic 3 point lighting and dimming the lights on one side but this didn't really get the effect I wanted. I tried adding on some ND filters on the lights but again this didn't get the lighting effect that I needed. So instead I set up a key light on my actor and then took off one of the lights as well. Then I turned another light to light up the back of the location, so we're getting pockets of light from different angles.

The next issue we had was there wasn't enough light on my actors face, it wasn't balanced enough so I brought in an LED light and put it with an orange filter and set it to 50% to help balance the light but also give that effect of the pockets of light around. But when I looked back through the camera it was still too bright even though I'd tried dimming the lighting more. So rather than changing the lighting more, I decided to work with the camera.

I kept the Iris on 5.6 but added the first ND filter onto the camera. This helped dim the lighting and really give that effect I was going for. However, I didn't know whether this would work at my location because I was practicing this at the studios in a big open and empty studio which isn't what I'll be working with. So this was when I decided I'd need to do a tech run with my crew to see how we could use the lighting.

CAMERA WORKSHOP: DSLR CAMERAS

We had a few DSLR work shops with Fergus to give us the choice between cameras to use for our projects. Below is a quick video from the work shop.

DSLR Workshop

I've been using DSLR cameras for around 4 years now so I'm confident when using them. What I like the most is that you can change the lens to get a different look and feel with the footage. The options we have at UCA is the Canon 7D. I own a Canon 60D and also the Photography department at Rochester does have Canon 5D Mark 3 which is the only Canon model to have a Full Frame sensor. The only downside to DSLR cameras is that the audio from them is unusable due to it's poor quality. Meaning we would have to record footage and audio separately and then sync it up in post-production which isn't too tricky as long as you use a clapper to get a sync point. 

As well as a Canon 60D, I also have a shoulder rig which allows me better handheld work with my DSLR. As well as a pull focus which helps with focus shots in films. But my main concern with DSLR's is the audio. As well I had issues recording the audio separately in my last project and audio and sound design is something that's really important in this project for me.

This was why I chose to go with the Sony EX cameras because I can record the audio straight into the camera and I didn't have any issues with these when I used them in my storytelling unit. They also allowed me to have more with Colour Correction and grading in my last project. 

DIRECTIONS UNIT: SHOT LIST

For my shot planning I chose to do a shot list for each location. I've never found storyboards useful I prefer having a list of shots that I can look at and work from since I will usually end up changing the shot idea on set/location. These were my shot lists for my shoots:

DIRECTIONS UNIT: SCRIPT BREAKDOWN AND CHANGES

When planning out my shoot, I broke down my script for both acting directions, camera work and changes within the script itself. Below you can see my breakdown:

I used red pen to write out the camera moves and black for general notes and notes on the actor. As you can see, I actually cut out the close up sequence as this is Edgar's style of directing. But I didn't want to do this but still wanted to show the passage of time with Shaun and Ed getting drunk and the pub closing but without needing to show long and boring clips. So after my research into Breaking Bad's montage style I decided to do this to replaced the close up sequence. I decided on having quick shots between the two characters to show them getting more drunk which can lead nicely into the next scene. As well, I decided on how to have the camera movement between Shaun and Ed from my research into The Walking Dead between a scene with Rick and Shane and decided on having a very simple shot reverse shot to do this and focus on the actions from the characters to bring the scene to life. As well I noted that I would need royalty free music for the Jukebox and the montage and that Shaun's one line in this would need to be delivered with him sobbing and crying since he has just been dumped in this part of the film.
With the opening I decided to have it as handheld but with cuts between his front and back just to lead into learning who the character is. Slightly like the introduction to our main character in 'Taxi Driver'.

This page of the script I didn't have to note down much. Camera work stays the same here with the shot reverse shot again to go with the speed and mood of the scene. The main part I focused on here was I need the characters to 'whisper' after John asks them to be quiet, we've also got a comical line for Ed which is 'what a bitch' to focus on when it comes to that. Shaun's biggest delivery in this scene is where he explains what Liz said to him which leads into Ed talking about the 'interesting characters' in the pub. Here I won't need any extras in the background other than a woman, snakehips and John. But I knew for the other seen I'd need a couple and that's why I asked some classmates to just sit in and help bring the pub to life more. It just helps to make it more believable. The Man with a Mullet I changed to just have an interesting feature, which could be a coat, rings, etc. instead because I don't see why a mullet shows him as someone who is like the way Ed describes. As well, having someone with a lot of rings would help with the line 'strangled his first wife' giving the idea he's had multiple.

This page was mostly look at the camera work. I chose a tilt up shot to reveal snakehips and add to the 'mystery' of him. The next character is the woman, so we haven't seen this person yet and by the looks of the location I didn't think we would, as well she wouldn't really need to be seen. But the location is very small and I couldn't think how we could have her in the background so I decided that she'd just have a single shot of herself. As well in this scene I decided on John's shots and chose to cut Bernie (John's wife) because I feel she's not needed. She doesn't benefit the story and is never seen again in the script. She doesn't even have lines so I felt she wasn't needed.

With this part, we have Ed's biggest delivery which leads up to the zombie knocking on the window. But after this we go back outside the pub. This scene I want to try and get in one shot since we had the opening shot as hand held so I think it would look good as hand held and one shot here as well.

This next scene is the beginning of the morning after they've been in the pub. I wanted to have a pull focus shot here to go along with Shaun waking up and then coming into focus. I like this and it gives the idea we're waking up with him after this long night. So the biggest change I did to this scene is I chose not to have the street scene as 1 shot. I kept the shop sequence as one shot but I wanted to cut up the rest of the scene and show different things such as a body on the ground and show the zombies before hand. I also chose to have Shaun leaving and going back into the house as hand held. This was just to get the scene started and is a good way to show the first zombie and reencounter it again.

With the end of the scene. I decided on a final shot being all the zombies coming to the house after we see Shaun go inside to end the film on a cliff hanger.

DIRECTIONS UNIT: PROPS MADE

When needing the name badge and the sign for the pub made I contacted Grace Buffham who is a UCA student studying Design for Theatre and Film. The sign I wanted the same as in the film since it's just a sign and it was easier for Grace to work off the original design rather than create a new one. Next we had to decide on the name tag. Seeing as I've chosen to keep Shaun's uniform the same I decided to make the name tag work with it. So his uniform is a white shirt and red tie so I asked to have the name tag as white and red. Although this prop won't have detail on it and won't be seen much, it still adds to the character and helps to show a little more about him.

 These are the props that Grace then made for me. They're simple, but effective and will help with the story and the characters much more.

DIRECTING UNIT: THE WALKING DEAD SERIES 1 REVIEW

When looking for a TV Series I could use for research I decoded to use the Walking Dead season 1. My reason being that this series firstly is because it is based in a zombie apocalypse, so looking for a way to have the zombies act, this was ideal research. But also, with the relationship between Shane and Rick, although by the end of the first series they aren't hugely close and they begin to develop conflict which grows in series 2. You can see the true friendship in them and I needed to use this for Shaun and Ed in my film.

Starting with the zombies. Zombies in The Walking Dead have been infected for over 3 months, the whole of America has fallen and there aren't that many survivors left still fighting back. To show the passage of time and to keep with the idea that the Zombies are 'The Living Dead' the production designers made them so that their skin has rotten, dirtied and they look very much like a corpse rather than a freshly turned corpse. As a dead body would decay after time.

This is with the skin, clothes and hair. They look like they are slowly decaying and falling apart which you actually see in the series. However. Since my outbreak is literally being seen from day one, I'm not looking at at the make-up but more at how they're being directed to walk and act. So I wanted to see how they directed these actors because when you watch the series, none are actually walking the same, it's always something different and I wanted to see how we could get that out of actors. The executive producer does a workshop called ZOMBIE SCHOOL which is where actors audition to be zombies for the series. However, the producer doesn't direct them or tell them what sort of thing he wants. He lets the actors act how they believe zombies would be with some scenario to help them. He then choses the best people around and asks them back for the series. Although they all follow a basic idea. The zombies need to be relaxed and limp, sort of dragging themselves along. Rather than the original concept from 'Night of the Living Dead' where they just limp slightly. I'm going to try this technique with my actors to try and get the best possible performance out of them.

As well as this I also looked into the relationship of the characters Rick and Shane. We see them before and after the zombie outbreak, after the outbreak we see them working their differences but also both trying to take leadership over the group. However it was one particle scenes that caught my interest from a Directors point of view. In season one we see their friendship begin to fall and crumple because of the outbreak but at the beginning of season 1 we get a 4 minute scene of just them talking about the situation between their partners. The scene can be seen below:

Rick and Shane's talk

This scene really grabbed my eye. Firstly, the camera movement. There basically isn't any. The entire scene is made up of 5 actual shots. See them below.

Close-up on their food, explaining why they're sitting in the car and establishing the scene.

Mid-Close-Up on Risk and Shane, favouring Rick to see both their reactions and dialogue but to have the focus on Rick.

Close-Up on Rick's face for full focus on Rick's dialogue and actions, Shane seen at the side to keep him within the space and keep them close. I would also argue both shots are set up to symbolise how close they are. We never see them dead on from the front and the shots keep them close together as they are close friends here. 

Mid-Close-Up on Shane and Rick, favouring Shane to see both their reactions and dialogue but to have the focus on Shane.

Close-Up on Shane's face for full focus on Shane's dialogue and actions, Rick seen at the side to keep him within the space and keep them close. Same argument as the reverse shot with Rick.

These are the only shots for this entire scene but it works. The camera is still and doesn't have any track or pull focus shots. It's very basic but works perfectly for the scene. Looking more into the actions of the scene. Rick and Shane are always looking at each other when talking and joking about women not turning off light switches. Rick is always looking into his eyes. They're still eating here to show they're calm and relaxed, as well, Rick always looks at Shane when talking. But when the conversation flips to talk about Rick and Lowri... See how their actions have changed. Rick won't look Shane in the eye, in fact he always looks to the side which helps us to see that this seriously effects him. But he looks again at Shane when he explains that he would never say what his wife said in front of his son. This is a brilliant piece of directing actors to help really show the emotions that're within the lines. The director Frank Darabont (Also the Writer) clearly thought ahead about this scene and saw that the camera needed to be still with this and allow the actions of the characters to speak and bring the scene alive more. This is what I want between the scene with Shaun and Ed in 'Shaun of the Dead'. Originally, Edgar Wright has the camera moving a lot with a lot of track, pan and tilt shots. But, I think the scene would work much better having the camera stationary and focusing on the actions from the actors instead.