Unit 1: Story-telling: Production

Filming day went perfectly. I started filming at 9am and had everything finished by around 3.30pm without needing to rush. I got every shot listed in my shot list as well as extra ones in case I feel that they fit better when editing.

I've only had one previous experience of filming anything before starting this course so I feel that I have a lot to be proud of. I think the way that I organised my shoot went very well, having a shot list as well as a script helped me to stay on track with what needed to be done next throughout the day. I also had specific time frames for when scenes and locations needed to be done with to make sure that I didn't run out of time.

I felt that I put a lot of effort into the shoot. I had a certain way that I imagined every shot looking and I didn't want to leave anything out. I made sure that I had the lighting I needed by filming in specific locations and points in the day and following my shot list by filming everything in a certain shot type, angle and movement.

I also tried to pay attention to the smaller details in the film, such as Aiden having a messy room, wearing lazy clothes and having quite laid back body language. While Nina has a feminine, organised room and gives off a neat and tidy impression.

As well as focusing on my characters impressions and my shot types, I decided to add some props and make-up to make my film stand out just that little bit more. I made sure to have Nina use an alarm clock for her alarm instead of a phone as I feel that her character is too organised and timely to rely anything but a real clock. I had Aiden bat a bit of rubbish on his bed out of the way when searching for his phone as a sign of being a slob. Nina sits at the table with her breakfast and phone perfectly laid out, while Aiden slumps on the sofa, watching tv and holding a bowl of cereal. Nina lays on the ground with make-up on her face to make it look like she had a great deal of impact with the car in the accident. And lastly, I wanted her phone to be damaged from the accident to make it more realistic and effective, so I added a 'cracked screen' sticker to the phone. I feel that all of these extras in my film made a lot of difference as they made everything more realistic and will allow the audience to learn a lot about the characters without them needing to say anything.

I feel very confident with directing and filming now and feel at ease with the equipment. If I could make any improvements it would be to just be more skilled with using the camera, as that would allow my shots to be more professional and artistic. I need further practice with lighting and focus and luckily I will get that with future units on the course and improve more and more over time.