Draft Storyboard, Timelines, Shooting Script & Research

This is my initial storyboard.

I included rough sketches of the shots as well as notes on camera angles & shots, time duration, and sound effects.
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These are my second-by-second timelines.

Seeing as though I did not go into enough detail on my storyboard, I produced two timelines.

The 'Vision' timeline stated what I had envisioned to happen in my film, in finer detail. I made notes on things such as the position of the character and the camera angles & shots I wanted to use.

The 'Sound' timeline stated what I wanted to accompany the visual film. I made notes on the music I was going to use, and where it would be placed in the film. I also made notes on the sound effects. This helped me get a better image in my head of what the film would hopefully look like and sound like once I had finished the editing process. This spurred me on to be as creative as possible when filming because the image of the finalised film with the music seemed to me like it would convey the codes and conventions of a Romantic Tragedy really well and I hoped it would give a very atmospheric effect.

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This is my shooting script.

My shooting script was the final document that I had to produce before I could go out and film.

I made notes on:

Shot description. the location, time/date, shot requirements, actors and props.

This helped a great deal as it made me consider logistic issues such as the weather (my artefact was filmed outside). And due to the fact that it got dark earlier than usual, I had to organise the shots I wanted to film in an appropriate order to ensure I got all the filming done in one day as I was up against a deadline.

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In order for me to gain maximum insight into what I needed to include in my film, I did some extensive research into the genre of my film (romantic tragedy) and produced the book that you can see above. This was a great help as I gained the knowledge of the typical conventions of existing romance films, which I later went on to use and develop in my own film. I made notes on important things such as Mise en Scene, costumes and locations. My research played a vital part in the production of my film.

Further planning and filming

Before I could begin to film, I had to complete the planning process by producing a shooting script as well as a second-by-second timeline which states the sound and vision I want in detail. I finished both of these and took a video camera and tripod home over the half-term holiday.

One day during the holiday I took myself, my equipment and my actress (and fellow media student!), Rachel to the location which was Heacham Beach.

I found myself up against a few difficulites including the fact that it got dark so fast, it was me against the clock! Not to mention the tide coming in. So I had to make sure I filmed it properly first time round. I also faced other problems such as having to change things that were on my storyboard due to inappropriate weather conditions. However I will go into further detail about this in my evaluation.

Despite all the problems, the filming went rather smoothly, the weather and setting really portrayed the mood that I wanted to portray. My actress did a really good job and even made herself cry!

I was very pleased with the end result. All that is left to do now is upload my footage onto one of the iMacs and begin to edit!