Production

On the day of the shoot we aimed to get in to college at around 8.30am to load the film, giving us time to make sure it was done correctly and so we didn't fall behind schedule if there were any complications.After I'd loaded the film, I joined Jared in the ERC to help collect and transport the equipment to the car.

We fell a little behind schedule, as we were late being picked up and so discussed and planned out how long and how much film stock we could use at each location in the car to help make up some of the time we had lost. When we got to our first location (the beach) we had to walk a fair way from the car to the beach over unsteady ground, which also contributed to the fall behind schedule. We had a extremely small crew for the shoot, as some members couldn't make it on the day. I blocked the shot with the actor, whilst Jared and Paul retrieved the remaining bits of kit from the car, and talked him through what it is we were trying to achieve.

The lack of crew also meant we had to all take responsibility for different jobs during the shoot and also meant setting up took a lot longer than what we had hope, such as dissembling and assembling the crane for example. Whilst on location, Paul and I discussed different shot ideas and angles and in which order to do them, trying to arrange them in the most efficient order in regards to time.

The crane shots were, by far, the hardest shots to achieve. We didn't have the largest weights for the crane, and so had to improvise by hanging a bucket of sand on the the end of the crane to help weigh it down, but it still wasn't enough. Jared had to push down on the end of the crane, whilst I stood way back and directed Paul in terms of what angle the camera should be at, as he couldn't see through the eye piece. I think the crane shots we did get were pretty decent considering the circumstances. 

To save time, we decided that we could get a shot of the bay by walking up the cliff path and shooting the same beach we'd already been on, rather than driving to the next town to get the shots. 

We hauled the equipment up the muddy, steep path and I blocked the scene with the actor whilst Paul and Jared prepared the camera. Jared and I were discussing different ways in which to shoot the scene, as we both had pictured it differently. We agreed upon the shot and quickly shot it, as it was by then becoming increasingly overcast. 

We had some trouble when we got to our last location because the grass was wet and our actor refused to lie down, which was crucial for the transition from moor to bay. You can see that this transition isn't as smooth as the others, but hopefully it's not too noticeable and doesn't have a negative impact on the film.

When we'd got all the main footage recorded, Jared and I took out a Canon 7D to record the footage for the opening sequence. The idea behind it was to visually represent the feeling of falling asleep. We'd planned to drape black fabric over the camera, and create a  twisted tunnel from the camera over to a bright light. We'd then record the tunnel untwisting, reveling the bright light at the end. This was proving very difficult to create when It came down to doing it. I think with a bigger group of people to help out and under better controlled circumstances, we could have achieved what we'd wanted, but we improvised with it, trying different techniques and then pick the one with the coolest effect to use in the film. Watching it back, I quite like the opening shot. It's not what I'd initially pictured, but think it works quite well, regardless.