Location 1 (Outdoor - the front of the house and the street to the house)
Google map link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1o6aiXvW56bb9DtU7?g_st=iw
Pictures:
The front of the house:
The street to the house:
Purpose of the shoot: For our scene number 1 where it is to introduce the location of where the crime occurred.
Media Language:
There will be a long shot of the street to Christopher’s house and the camera will move and follow Christopher going into the street of the house
Track/truck camera movement of Christopher that stops as Christopher stops right in front of the house
Long shot of the house for photographs of the location
Pros of the Location:
Because the house belongs to Jocelyn, one of my teammates in this project, the time we can spend there is flexible and not limited since it’s her own private property. This will allow us to follow our filming schedule as planned with the advantage of shooting without the pressure of time limits and the ability to take as many reshoots as we need as well. In comparison to if we set our location in school or a public space in which they have an opening and closing time, this would create longer filming durations as it meant that not everything can be done on that day and we would have to continue it another day.
The street to the house where Christopher will walk through is quite narrow, thus this can give the audiences an idea of the feeling of isolation and confinement for Christopher. We can use this as a method of building suspension and the gloomy and depressing mood we are trying to set.
Cons of the Location:
Shooting outdoors will mean that we will have to face unpredictable weather such as in the case where it starts to rain, we will have to delay or stop shooting outdoors at that moment as the camera is not waterproof and would be damaged due to the rain water. In addition to that, the mise-en-scene such as the appearance and clothes of the actor would be altered due to the rain water as well, in which they would not appear as how my team planned them to look like in that scene.
Secondly, since the street to the house is quite narrow, this will increase the effect of interference from passersby, motorbikes or cars passing by whilst we’re in the middle of shooting. This will lead to us having to reshoot the clip again and possibly delaying the shoots of the next clips or scenes that we planned to be done on that day.
Risk Assessment
Potential Hazards:
Uneven ground
Sudden harsh weather
Evaluate Risks:
As shooting outdoors is for scene 1 in which in this scene, the camera will be tracking Christopher, uneven ground may make it hard to keep the tracking stable and may cause that scene to look quite shaky which is not desirable. In addition to that, there are possibilities that either the actor or the person with the camera trips and falls, leading to a possible delay in the shoot as the camera and their ability to walk may be damaged in that process.
Sudden harsh weather such as rain, strong wind, or really high temperature will lead to discomfort in shooting outdoors as it would be more difficult to manage the equipment and the mise-en-scene of the background such as the lighting and the appearance of the actor. In the case of really high temperature, the camera may overheat and we’ll have to wait for
Control Measures and Implementation Timeframe:
Before recording the scenes, we could survey the area of the shooting to make sure there aren’t too many obstacles and choose the area that is the smoothest to walk on. (This can be done one day before shooting).
Make sure to wear sunscreen so that we don’t get sunburnt (should be done an hour before shooting).
We can also make sure to check the weather forecast to see if the weather will be suitable for us to record. If it isn’t then we could reschedule to a different day. (The weather forecast should be checked a day before the shooting).
Location 2 (Indoors - Harper’s room, living room, and basement)
Google map link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1o6aiXvW56bb9DtU7?g_st=iw
Pictures:
Room:
Living room:
Basement:
Purpose of the shoot: For scenes of when Harper arrives at her home and scenes of her activities in her room and living room.
Media Language:
Mise-en-scene of the camera’s focus lens on Harper’s body whereas her surroundings are quite blurred. Not long after, the camera’s focus lens will change towards the basement door
Medium shot of harper
Close up shot of Harper in her room, on her desk opening her laptop
Pros of the Location:
Since it is Jocelyn’s private property, we are free to change and move things necessary for the visual effects of the scenes such as covering red liquid on objects to mimic blood, adjust the lighting to make certain scenes look darker, and rearranging objects such as beds, tables, and shelves.
Other than that, we are able to discuss and recollect our thoughts while filming and shooting freely too since it is comfortable and safe. We also have access to Jocelyn’s editing setup close by too so if we want to immediately try and see how certain scenes would look like pieced together, we could do that quickly with access to Jocelyn’s editing hardware and software.
Access to the props that can be found in Jocelyn’s house which we could use to make scenes look more realistic (such as bags, laptops and etc.). This will help to make scenes look more realistic because they are items that can be found in any household, this one being Jocelyn’s.
Protection from the weather as it is indoors, anything like rain and extreme heat would not affect us as much as we are sheltered from it. This will eliminate one of the biggest risk factors, leaving us with less to worry.
Cons of the Location:
Especially for Jocelyn’s room that we will use to represent Harper’s, one of our biggest concerns surround the fact that Jocelyn’s room obviously reflects her. Jocelyn’s room is filled with things such as toy cars, F1 themed merch and others which for some could be seen as masculine. This could be harmful for our attempt at portraying Harper as someone who is feminine and more softer in personality. However, we could still try to limit this problem by simply removing most of the F1 merch if possible.
Another problem would be that even if lighting can be controlled to some extent since it is indoors, our scenes will still be impacted by the time and lighting because it is impossible to replicate the sunlight. For some scenes, we will need to make sure that we film them at the same time of the day to make sure that we have continuity and so that scenes flow seamlessly. Changing the lighting by turning lights on and off will have little impact because again, they can’t create the effect of the sunlight.
Risk Assessment:
Potential Hazards:
Jocelyn’s room had a lot of furniture such as tables, couches and a bed.
Jocelyn’s basement is like a biohazard.
Evaluate Risks:
Having a lot of furniture in the room will potentially make it hard to record some scenes as there is limited space. The limited space may cause the cameramen and actors to trip during the filming process. This will possibly result in injuries which will hinder or prolong the filming process too. Due to the obstruction of the furniture, the cameramen may also have to step on top of the furniture into uncomfortable and dangerous positions (if they fall, they will get hurt).
Although Jocelyn’s basement is picture perfect and captures the essence of typical criminal basement conventions, this is also the problem. Jocelyn’s basement’s air is very humid and hard to breathe in as it smells horrible. This may make filming in it quite hard for the cameramen and the actors because they may feel nauseous after coming out, jeopardizing their health.
Control Measures and Implementation Timeframe:
We can move some of the furniture to the side so that the walking path is not obstructed and it will also reduce the chances of people getting injured. (This should be prepared around an hour before the shooting).
In order to remove the humidity and stench, we could air out Jocelyn’s basement (This should be prepared a day before the shooting).
Another temporary solution would be for the cameramen to use masks while filming in the basement as they may need more time to set up, making them breathe in more of the basement air than the actors who can just constantly go out for fresh air.
Self-reflection:
This location scout and risk assessment helped us be more aware of the risks available at the location we chose to film in that we did not take into account before. It would be dangerous if left ignored as we are carrying a camera and tripod which are both expensive equipment. Not only that, it involves the safety of both the actor and the members of my team as well. The process of making this was quite easy as the challenges we encountered, which was also mentioned in the cons of the location, were memorable and are things we would love to not encounter again in the future.
