Day 1 Filming - Thursday 27th January

We filmed the classroom and corridor scenes on Thursday which was our first day of filming. These shots, according to the storyboards are shots: 4, 5a, 5b, 6, 16, 20, 21, 22 & 23. Our equipment was already booked so we hired it easily and all of our actors showed up on time so the filming process went a lot more smoothly than the last two times we had arranged to film. We filmed all of these scenes at Weymouth College which made it easier for all the actors to be there on times as they are all college students and the three male we had acting are all Drama students. All of the actors are my friends which made them more reliable and also made the filming process a lot more comfortable and enjoyable.

The first scenes we had to film was those with Erin and the teacher in the classroom (4 & 22). We firstly had a slight problem that was encountered about which room we would use for filming as the day we had booked the room out had already passed as we had some problems with filming. The teacher we had acting - Sue Dafter - found a suitable classroom for us to film in and we took various shots from different angles of the two classroom scenes. These scenes have worked well as we took them from different distances and angles to get the best effect as Erin lunges towards the teacher with a knife. The only problem was that I realise now I did not take any production photographs when we were filming so I will ensure that I take some next time.

We then filmed the different shots in the school corridor with Erin and the gang of school kids/bullies who we had dressed in white shirts and black trousers to highlight their age and reinforce the setting of the scenes - in a school. We had these actors try various different things in the scenes where they are supposed to push Erin and make fun of her (5a & b) so we have a few different takes that we can choose from in the editing process. In one of the shots, one of the female actresses Voni trips up Laura who plays Erin which works well, and Megan trows some screwed up paper at Erin's head as the gang of boys jeer and laugh. After these shots we filmed the scenes where Erin returns to school with her hood up - symbolising a change in herself - and the gang of youths go quiet as she walks past them rather than pick on her (20). again we took various takes of this scene so we can choose what is best when editing.

The last scenes we filmed were where Erin runs from the top of the corridor towards the camera (23) after threatening her teacher with a knife which was filmed a few times as she runs towards the camera. The scene where Erin is called a freak by one of the female 'bullies' was filmed a few times as Erin turns and lunges towards the girl aggressively (16) as we wanted to capture this scene as the two bullies are in mid-conversation as Erin walks past to make it look more authentic, rather than the girls just standing in silence. The last shots we filmed were those of Erin's fist clenching which we took from different angles and distances (6). One problem that occurred was how we would dolly/track Erin as she walked down the corridor where she is holding the knife in her hand (21). After trying ways of holding the camera steadily we decided to just use a pan from left to right as Erin slowly walks past which i thought worked just as effectively.

Overall, the first day of filming was successful and it took a lot less time than we thought so the actors were not held up for too long. I think we filmed all the different scenes in various ways so we will have a variety of options for most scenes which we can choose from when editing which will ensure we get the best effect and we will have a little more freedom when putting together our trailer, rather than being restricted to the precise frames and shot types we originally planned in our storyboards. Now we need to film the scenes in Erin's house (bedroom and kitchen) with her 'mother' and the outdoor scenes in the park, subway and by the road. The scenes in the subway and the road will need to be shot when it is dark so we will need to film with our main actress in the evening which I'm sure will not be a problem as she lives very near the subway that we are filming at. Hopefully the rest of the filming will go as smoothly as the first day.

Here is the Risk Assessment that has been done for Day 1 filming, highlighting any problems or dangers when we are filming:
Risk Assessment - Day 1

Here is the Call Sheet for the actors and crew, featuring times, places and other instructions about filming:
Call Sheet - Day 1

Reflection on Progress/Problems

The progress so far has been a little slow in regards to our filming as we had arranged to film in the college last week. We came across a few problems as some of our actors were hard to get hold of or didn't get back to us on time, as well as having a problem with finding a hair piece or wig for our main character (Erin) to wear in the scenes in 'school'. We had arrived at the costume hire department of the Performing Arts building too late and the woman in charge had already left so we had a problem there. Last week, my working partner Mia and I both had University interviews or were away on alternate days so we could not film then or arrange anything properly as we did not see each other.

It is very unfortunate that we couldn't film on these days but we plan to film by the end of this week so i am going to give out call sheets three days in advance so that our actors can make the time or change any arrangements that we can't work around. The first day of filming will be done in the college to make things easier for the first day and then we will film the second day in the outdoor locations which will involve us getting the bus to the subway location and also filming when it is getting quite dark. The third day of shooting will be the indoor locations to film the kitchen and bedroom scenes.

The problems that occurred last time were due to a lack of communication between us and the actors as we have separate lessons so cannot discuss filming very often but as long as we organise in advance and I speak to all the actors today I am sure it will go more smoothly next time. I will just need to ensure that everyone knows where and when they are required to film and possibly arrange to meet all of them at one time in advance to explain fully what will be happening and roughly how long they will be required to film. Booking equipment will need to be done in advance as well to make sure that we can have the camera, tape and tripod when they are required. I will also make sure that a wig or hair piece and a false/toy knife have been hired in advance to save from any last-minute rushing around before filming.

As soon as we finish filming which will be hopefully by the end of this week as long as there are no further issues or obstacles, we can start the editing process next week to give us as long as possible to make our film trailer to the highest standard. We planned to film this Wednesday but on the day our main actress did not show up and the equipment hire was not open which was extremely unfortunate so we rearranged for the day after with a new actress to play Erin who is more reliable. Thursday's scenes are to be filmed in Sandsfoot block at college on Thursday 27th January. The scenes we will be filming are those set in the classroom and corridor. I have also filled out a Risk Assessment form for filming to highlight and dangers of problems that may occur when filming in advance, in order to prevent or prepare for them. I have received permission as well from the Head of sixth Form to use the classroom for half an hour for filming so everything is ready.

Film Poster Analysis

Here are the film posters for the thrillers that I used for research examples during the planning of our film trailer. The posters of these films are also very effective examples of how a good film poster is produced to advertise and represent the film. All of these four poster examples feature a very similar colour scheme - black, white, red and blue which is quite coincidental, but it may be colours that effectively represent thriller films with red symbolising anger or blood, black giving a dark effect and blue representing a cold or chilling theme to a film.

This 'Harry Brown' cover is effective in its' use of a limited but bold colour palette. The strong use of red and blue in contrast to the black and white images of the characters hints quite a dark and bleak story. The use of these colours, white blue and red, also represent that it is a British film, telling a raw and thrilling British story. The target is one of the central focuses of the poster and gives the audience an idea that the film will involve violence and weapons and gives the poster a more 'dangerous' element. The scaling of Michael Caine in comparison to the other four characters implies that he is the protagonist 'Harry Brown' and is the main focus of the movie. His serious expression, smart clothing and briefcase suggest that he is an authoritative and respectful character, as well as his older age than the young characters featured. The use of the white space behind gives the poster a clean look in comparison to the grainy, almost dirty-looking monochrome characters that are featured on the poster with intimidating and angry expressions. The white background also helps highlight the red text used with the very positive film reviews, quotes and star rating which also help promote and advertise the film well. The slogan 'One man will take a stand' is also a very powerful line that is featured under the largely-scaled, diagonally-placed film title which implies that the film will be about the character 'Harry Brown' taking a stand against something, hinting a strong plot line and adding some anticipation to the audience.

The 'Shank' film poster is very full-on and striking as six characters are in mid-run straight towards you which makes it a strong poster example. This represents the film to be an action film as straight away the first thing you see is characters running and captured in mid-motion. The background of the poster is in a gray and white tone, implying that it may be a film with quite a dark storyline. The expressions of the characters are either serious or angry, making them look quite intimidating as they are charging towards the camera. The use of a very large and bold typography for the film poster is eye catching, especially as it is in a blood-red colour which links directly to the film's name - meaning 'stab'. The use of a silhouette holding a knife in the centre of the letter 'A' in the title is very clever and effective, again linking and representing the film's violence and gang-related theme. This is also represented through the use of the characters on the poster as well as the slogan at the top of the page - 'The gangs have taken over'. This is a strong statement, giving the audience a little more information of the film's theme by telling them that it is about youth gangs 'taking over' society. Overall, the whole poster has a very raw, rough and gritty look to it, representing the action/thriller theme of violence.


This poster for the thriller 'Shutter Island' has a very eerie and creepy look to it, with Leonardo DiCaprio's fave being half-lit my the light of a match, looming out of the darkness with a worried and suspicious expression on his face. This poster is extremely effective and representative of the film's mystery/horror/thriller genre. The island has a blue glow around it, making it glow from the surrounding darkness and drawing attention to it on the poster as it is clearly a focal point of the film as the film title is in distorted white letters above the image. The use of red text at the bottom of the poster gives connotations of violence, anger and blood, hinting that the film may have a gruesome undertone to it. This bold colour is used to highlight the extremely positive film review that is chosen for the poster. The use of this colour and this specific quote/review draws attention to it which would persuade or influence an audience to take interest in the film and build anticipation among and audience. The use of the black space in the background if important when representing the general, dark tone to the film, with all the images looming out of this blackness, implying that it is a very dark film.

The poster for 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' has a bold but mysterious element to it as the female's face is half-concealed by the bright red dragon symbol and a dark shadow diagonally across her forehead. This straight away gives the viewer an idea that this thriller will have a strong mystery/suspense element to it. The use of the black space and the female's face looming out of the darkness again implies that there will be a dark theme and the use on the female's face on the poster suggests that she will be the protagonist of the film and she is the 'Girl with the Dragon tattoo'. The blood red colour implies that the film may feature violence and the dragon symbol rising and curling out of the smoke out of the bottom the poster - like a Phoenix from the flames- possibly suggests that it is a film about reinvention, change or reincarnation. The limited colour choice for this poster is very bold and striking as the red is very bold and attention-grabbing. The use of white for the film title is effective as it is a clean and neutral colour against the red and black, giving it a pure look and drawing attention to it. The scaling of the 'the' and 'with the' in comparison to the larger typography implies that the main focus of the girl and her tattoo.

Overall, I think all of these posters are extremely bold and effective when advertising their thriller films as they all have an element of mystery as well as evoking a 'dark' feel to each film which makes them very exciting. I particularly like the 'Shutter Island' poster as it has a very mysterious and sinister look to it which would really persuade me to go and see the film at the cinema as it targets fans of thriller, horror, action and mystery films.