Final Filming

The filming process has been a long tedious one, with many difficulties faced. I did not realise just how much it would challenge me but much dedication and hard work finally paid off. Initially there was the problem of finding areas to film as my partner is in a wheelchair. This only got harder as, when it came to filming in houses, she was unable to get in and meant most of the filming was down to me. This was made harder due to the distance back and forth. As my partner couldn't carry the equipment (A tripod and a big case with the camera, microphone and batteries in it) I had to carry it daily between college and home which became hard work on top of my other books and bags. One of the biggest problems, though, was that around half way through filming the tape stopped working. Being half term, it put us a week behind in the time that we should have finished our film. Eventually it turned out that we had been given a head cleaner to film on as opposed to an actual tape and most of the recording had been on either the head cleaner or the camera, but luckily everything we recorded was there, it was just a case of using two tapes.

On the other hand, our actors and actresses were better than expected. Initially it was difficult as they were unsure of what to do, where to stand and position themselves and how to say things but thankfully for us, our main actress Chloe who plays Ella, is currently studying A2 film studies and therefore has some knowledge in filming. As well as this, they devoted a lot of their time to helping as in some cases it meant bus journeys that took around an hour each way, and thankfully they were willing to do this.

By far the hardest scene we did was the one at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth. Because Nina is in a wheelchair, I took sole charge of the camera but in this instance it was a long distance shot, and the cast had to be in the distance below the hill with the director, who had to be me, as Nina couldn't get down the hill. For Nina to operate the camera, she had to have someone with her who she could do it for her with her direction and due to strong wind that day, it meant I had to run up and down the hill to try and talk to her which became increasingly tiring and difficult, especially when it came to cueing.

Eventually we had to redo this scene as you could see me in the corner of many of the shots directing which became obvious when we uploaded the trailer to the computer, but this time we used signs to give cues and this made it far easier to do.

Although it has been hard-work and very demanding, I am glad we finished the filming as it tested my skills in patience and motivation, and proved that I have both. As well as this, it measnt hat I am more pleased with the outcome and so much time and effort went into the production.