This post is all about the colour BLUE, the 2 Wescott 10×24 foot chroma-key blue screens have been ordered from Videoguys Australia. They should be ready to pickup sometime in the next two weeks. These screens will be used for all the effects scenes. Which is approx 30-40%, of the entire film.
On Sunday evening we held our 3rd production planning meeting.
These meetings are held for the specific purpose of reviewing and planning the shooting schedule.
Preliminary footage – DVD
We 1st looked at the DVD, this is available to all cast and crew who would like to watch it. We do stress that anyone who sees this DVD must have signed the NDA. There should also be no copies made without the approval of Thorn Productions and it should only be passed around through the co-ordination of the Producer.
Protocol
There have been several issues raised in the production meeting in relation to protocol during filming. Although we are amateur in nature and we are all learning. An email on protocol will be sent out to all cast and crew in the next few days, we do intend to monitor this more in the future.
Call Sheet Errors
Last weekend there was several errors in the call sheet that we did not pickup, if anyone notices an error, please bring it to our attention by sending the producers an email. The call sheet should provide all information required for a given shoot day. The updated call sheet for the coming weekend will be uploaded on the Tuesday prior by 9pm.
Advanced planning – future shoot days
There has been some discussion about the schedule and the impact it is having on individuals and families, we have dropped shoot day 13, we also intend to alter the weekend of shoot days 14 and 15. We will negotiate with cast and crew as to the changes to the shooting schedule.
Well, shoot day 7 was always going to be a challenge for various reasons. 1st there was the early morning start, then came the trip to Portsea followed by a long shoot. We then had to travel back to Mt Evelyn, by the time we arrived at location 2 we were 1 hour behind schedule.
Shooting continued while several of us left for location 3 to meet cast there, at this point we found that the call sheet was incorrect. By the time all cast and crew had relocated to location 3, we were a good 2 hours behind schedule. This shoot had its own challenges and we eventually called it a day.
Shoot day 7 presented us with both challenges and some of life’s little lessons. Maybe we tried to push more into the day than was possible, maybe the cast and crew need a break. Regardless of all the challenges this day presented, we did managed to get some excellent footage and someday we will all look back at this day as been just another day in the making of Elindil’s Secret.
Synopsis of the days events
05:00 – Travel to Portsea, 1st makeup call for cast.
06:30 – Makeup and Wardrobe, 1st makeup call for cast.
07:30 – Shooting at location 1, Portsea for 3.5 hours.
11:00 – Relocate to Mt Evelyn and lunch, What is known as Abigail’s cabin.
13:00 – Shooting at location 2, Abigail’s cabin for 2.5 hours.
15:30 – Relocate to Macclesfield, Car scenes.
16:00 – Shooting at location 3 for 1.5 hours.
17:30 – Decided to call it a Wrap, will pickup shots another day.
The 2nd day of shooting started 2 hours prior to sunrise for most of us. The 40-50 minute travel along the Warburton highway through patches of fog with a constant changing sky provided just the right backdrop for an early morning peaceful and tranquil drive.
That was going to change, 1st came the numb fingers of the MUA as she worked on each of the cast applying makeup with a directors chair, a generator, two 500W floods on yellow stands and a picnic ground as the backdrop.
Then came the challenges for the wardrobe area with the make shift change rooms, commonly known as our cars or simply behind a car or tree.
Then the different challenges for the cast, some with normal footwear, others with sandals and one poor cast member with bare feet. All trying to keep their feet from entering the freezing cold water of the Yarra River or avoiding a pampas grass that found several willing victims.
Finally, the camera crew standing in the Yarra River for several hours with only the rubber of our gum boots protecting our feet from the freezing cold water. Not to mention repositioning the camera and tripod countless times whilst ensuring it didn’t go for a swim. Who’s dumb idea was this, gum boots in water that sometimes was up to ones knees.
You could say the morning location presented several challenges for both cast and crew that will be etched firmly in our minds forever.
From here we moved onto some pickup shoots back at Warburton to finish of the shooting from day 5. At least this presented us with no challenges, even the broken jar was still there, No need to break another, Woot! Our final location was to see us return to Emerald and re-shoot the scenes from the previous week. This ran much smoother and the images look much better than the 1st time.
As to the catch phrase “Just One More“. Its going to continue for another 18 shooting days.
Synopsis of the days events
07:00 – Makeup and Wardrobe setup, 1st makeup call for cast.
07:30 – Rest of Crew arrive at location 1.
08:00 – Shooting at location 1, Yarra River for 4 hours.
12:30 – Shooting pickup shoots at location 2, Yarra River for 1.5 hours and lunch.
13:00 – 2nd makeup call for cast to meet at location 3 by 14:15.
14:15 – Shooting at location 3, Emerald for 2.74 hours.
17:00 – Wrap.
The day started on time, however after arriving at location one near Warburton we encountered a minor issue. The level of the Yarra River was higher than expected making it impossible to cross. Decision time was upon us, one car going upstream to check tomorrows location and another heading back into Warburton to find a new location for today, while the rest of the cast and crew sat around.
Well, we did find a new location and in some ways it turned out better than the original. Although shooting commenced 2 hours behind schedule we made up time and wrapped up the shooting in Warburton only 30 minutes behind the original scheduled time, Woot!
We then relocated to Kilsyth for location two shooting. The outside scenes of what will be known as Allan Scott’s estate, the catch phrase here was “Just One More“. As previous shoot days, we commenced the day at Sunrise and concluded at Sunset. For this weekend, the catch phrase “Just One More” also means another day of shooting.
Synopsis of the days events
07:30 – Makeup and Wardrobe setup, 1st makeup call for cast.
08:00 – Rest of Crew arrive, ready to car pool to location 1.
09:00 – At location 1, trying to find a way across the Yarra River.
10:00 – Reccy to find new location and check tomorrows location.
11:00 – Shooting at new location 1, Yarra River for 4.5 hours.
16:00 – 2nd makeup call for cast.
16:30 – Shooting at location 2, Kilsyth.
18:00 – Wrap.
Yesterday evening we held our 2nd production planning meeting.
These meetings are held for the specific purpose of reviewing and planning the shooting schedule.
Process and lines of communication
Even though this is an amateur film, we felt that there are several issues that needed to be discussed and addressed that would see the shoot days run smoother and be less frustrating for individuals.
Continuity
This is by far the most time consuming component of the production phase of this project both in the background and on the day. In the meeting we outlined a few strategies to deal with continuity and also appointed a single focal point.
Review shoot days 5, 6 & 7
Updated call sheets for these shoot days have been uploaded to the shooting Schedule page. All cast and crew should read these carefully as there have been significant changes made.
Advanced planning – shoot days 8 & 9
The phrase “Logistical Nightmare” can be adopted here. As with the Grampians trip, there is a lot of travel, infact there is more travel than filming. Cast and crew required for this weekend will be seeded details over the next few weeks.
Another early mornings rise for both cast and crew, it looked like the day was going to be a wash out. Luckily for us the rain stopped and a foggy haze rolled in providing a spooky effect. At times it felt a bit eerie in the hills around Gembrook. From there we moved to a secret location near Emerald for the final shoot of the day, this was a challenge as the day quickly became more like night.
Synopsis of the days events
07:00 – Cast and Crew on the road again, heading for Gembrook.
08:00 – Arrived, makeup and wardrobe call for cast.
09:30 – Started shooting at area 1.
14:30 – Relocated to area 2.
15:45 – Started shooting at area 2.
17:30 – Wrap for day 4.
What a weekend. For makeup and wardrobe, it started Friday evening when they left Melbourne for Halls Gap. For everyone else, its was a cold, early Saturday morning gathering with the 1st car leaving at 5:00 am and 4th leaving at 5:30 am. It was a huge weekend. The weekend shoot covered; 8 different locations and 54 shots, lots of travel, hiking, climbing, a few minor injuries and lots of tourists checking us out.
Synopsis of the weekends events
Day 1:
05:00 – Cast and Crew leave for the Grampians.
09:30 – Arrived, makeup and wardrobe call for cast.
10:30 – Started the 1st days shooting.
18:00 – Wrap for day 1, drive back to base camp (Halls Gap).
Day 2:
06:00 – Makeup and wardrobe call for cast.
07:30 – Started the 2nd days shooting.
18:00 – Wrap for day 2, drive back to Melbourne.
22:00 – Several Cast and Crew watching takes back in Melbourne for about 1 hour.