Potential Locations
Unlike last year, we were aware that we would need to use more locations with our project changing from an opening scene to short film. We came up with a number of locations as well as some being suggested to us by teachers and other people that we had asked. To add a variety into our film we need to use at least four locations.
Opening Scene (Poker)
Matt's Grandad's Garage
For the opening poker scene, we were in need of a small enclosed room or area that can be lit up well. With this garage, there were several unused sockets meaning that we could bring in lamps and floodlights to light up areas of the room that we thought needed to without producing too many shadows. The garage was the perfect size and was easily accessible because of Matt being a part of our production. We also thought that this garage would be the perfect place to green screen due to the lighting available. However, with the garage being small we would have to film one car at a time and would have to also be careful with opening doors onto walls when trying to get interior shots. I think that the garage will definitely be used for the opening and/or green screening.
In a Classroom at Poole Grammar
An alternative location for the opening scene was in a classroom at my school. This room is very simple, with chairs and tables as well as blinds that can darken the room. There are sockets so that artificial lighting can be implemented making it a good choice. A big problem for us was that our establishing shot of David smoking from a cigarette wouldn't have been possible to film due to rules and regulations that are in place by our school on smoking on the premises. For this reason alone, I feel as if Matt's Grandad's garage will be the best option.
Foot Chase Scene (Alleyways)
Matt's Garden Alleyway
Originally we all intended to start the film off with the protagonist exiting a door and running down an alleyway with the antagonist following shortly behind. When putting forward this desire, Matt offered his opinion and said that there was an alleyway at the back of his garden that could be a suitable option for our film. This alleyway has a door that can be burst open by the characters and the alleyway can fit two people down it however fitting additional camera men and tripods might be pushing it, meaning that only certain shots will be able to work here (e.g handhelds).
Seaview Alleyway with Steps
Another option for the foot chase scene is an alleyway located right near where our actor (David) lives. This alleyway is also situated right near a long flight of steps which is perfect for us as we originally planned to film this but using two separate locations. We would be able to film the characters running down the alleyway, round the corner, straight down the stairs and down to his car that would be parked on the side of the road - thus transitioning straight into the car chase. The alleyway was wide enough to fit cameras unlike the alleyway near Matt's house which instantly makes it more efficient. However, this area could be seen as too residential for what we planned due to the large amount of houses nearby which creates the sense of a neighbourhood rather than an urban street.
Creekmoor Alleyway
This location is near to myself and was used in our first rough cut to see how every shot would piece together. With this alleyway being local it meant that equipment could be easily transported to this alleyway. On arriving to the location we all decided that the alleyway was both too short and too narrow, as a result making it hard to film by setting up tripods. Like the alleyway near Matt's we had to limit the amount of shots that we could use because of this. All in all if we continue the idea of an alleyway then I think we will go with the Sea View alleyway.
Foot Chase Scene (Steps/Slopes)
Seaview Pathway/Sloped Area
After finding out about the Seaview stairs location near to David, he informed us that there was another area that could potentially work for our film. We asked him to take us to see it just so we could choose between this location compared to others that we viewed. This location was a hilly zigzag-like pavement that could add a dramatic effect when the foot chase is in place. Down the bottom of this slope lead to a long, wide alleyway positioned at the back of houses. This would allow plenty of room for tripods and dolley that Luke had at his house. However the houses nearby put us off, as it would be hard to capture certain shots without houses and garages getting in shot.
Dorset Way Bridge
Another location was put forward by myself and Luke. We both knew about a long alleyway parallel to Dorset Way due to both living in that area before. I drove down there with my crew to see what it was like. The alleyway was long meaning that we didn't have to worry about a limited amount of running in the foot chase. It was also fairly enclosed which meant that the housing estate wasn't captured. Another reason that we loved this location was because of the foot bridge that stretches across the dual carriageway. This bridge would allow our protagonist to attempt to lose the antagonist in a more intense fashion. We would be able to film from high angles, low angles, tracking shots etc.
Car Chase
Lytchett Country Roads
For our car chase we need a quiet country road where there is little traffic, people and houses. We immediately knew that the Upton/Lytchett area provided many back roads with a speed limit of 60, meaning that higher speeds could be reached and less post-production editing would be needed for our chase. We mapped out a route that ended up linking straight back to the beginning (lasting 5 minutes). At the start of the film chase we were able to pull into a layby in order to set up Gopros and to inform the drivers of what needed happening on each take. There was also plenty of room on the side of the road for myself to film on the side and capture the two cars driving past at speed. This location ended up being the perfect choice for us, and helped advance our film production.
Green Screen
Luke's Driveway
With Luke owning a green screen with all the vital equipment, we decided to test it out on his driveway. At first we thought it was a good area to try it out as it was a n open space with lots of room and we had easy access to his Step-dad's car. However with the weather conditions being windy, it was tricky to keep the greenscreen up. Myself and David had to hold up the green screen whilst Matt filmed. We managed to complete this but when it came round to editing we realised that sections of the clip were being picked up as green due to the lighting being too bright outside during the day. We tried to change this on different editing softwares but failed so had to instead find an alternative location that was inside. We knew that Matt's Grandad's Garage was available so decided to try it their.
Final Scene
Creekmoor Ponds
For our final scene I knew of a location right by mine that could provide us with a beautiful yet mysterious area. This effect was exactly what our film needed. The long pathway would allow our main protagonist to walk down it and then veer off to the left between the wooden fencing so that he could reveal what was in the bag to the audience without any chance of being seen by others. We didn't need any alternative location for the end scene.
