Filming Day 1

The Void: On our first filming session we were introduced to the cameras and sound equipment by the head of media, this was so we could act independently and hire out the cameras for future filming without the need for assistance. I have previously used and were originally familiar with the Cannon cameras however, the session expanded my knowledge on how to use a camera and taught me the procedure I  should take when filming, such us stating "camera rolling" and "sound ready" to match the audio and moving image during the editing process.  In addition I learned was how to focus shots effectively and use the most appropriate lenses for the scene. 

The session involved using the Cannon EOS 550D and practise the following:

- How to use a variety of lenses and change them accordingly 

- How to record and erase the footage 

- How to adjust the focus

- How to use manual and auto focus and when they should be used

- How and when a tripod should be used  

- How to adjust the appearance of a shot by altering the exposure 

- How to use the microphone and sound equipment 

- How to use a clapper board accordingly and how to match the sound and moving image during the process of editing 

After the session involving an introduction on how to use the equipment we set out to film within the void. The scenes we planned to shot were the deaths of both judges. The male judge would attempt running from the killer and then unfortunately fall resulting in his death. The second death would involve the female judge being tied up and murdered.   

Props were required to shoot the death of the female judge. I brought in a plain vest top and tights that we could tear and cover in blood. In order to make the fake blood I mixed together golden syrup and food colouring, the syrup provides the texture of blood and the the food colouring gives the authentic appearance and illusion of blood. Additionally, the weapon used to kill the female judge was a broken drum stick that I brought in. 

One of the main problems we faced, as previously stated, was the safety of our actors and the crew. Due to the uneven ground our male judge had the potential of falling and injuring him self. In addition, one scene involved the male judge falling the being dragged across the floor. In order to prevent such injury we placed a large piece of cardboard that covered the surface and allowed the actor to be pulled across the board rather than the floor. Secondly, there was a key issue with lighting. Within the void there were few sources of light and it was extremely low key therefore it complemented our horror genre yet failed to light up our actors. There were also many issues with the flicker effect the lighting had on the camera and many shots took a number of attempts to complete.

Finally, when looking back at our footage we discovered that very few of the shots were in focus. It was mainly due to many of the shots involving the male judge were of him running and instead of using auto focus we used manual focus, whereby only one section would be in focus however when he moved from that section the actor appeared out of focus. This issue meant that we would have to re shoot most of our footage. Nevertheless, the footage of the female judge seemed useable and a minority of the running sequences.  

Below shows the footage of the male judge running. At the start of the clip the judge is out of focus however, at the end of the clip he appears to be in focus. 

However, an example of a clip of the female judge that was in focus and that is useable is shown below.