Production log
APRIL
Create a production plan
22nd
APRIL
23rd
Plot structure setup
Script first draft
APRIL
28th
APRIL
Contact actors and send them first draft
29th
7th
MAY
First draft checked
Click above for full screen
MAY
15th
script second draft
17th
MAY
crew found and crew agreements
manav
Shankar
Stephanie
chao
MAY
20-22th
Location scouting
This was an email I sent through the 7-11 contact website. I was hoping to take some pickup shots on the 20th and 21st and create a relationship with the people who work there in order to get another date where we would be allowed to bring a larger cast and crew into the shop. However, I did not receive a reply.
My second port of call was to take advantage of my parents contacts and get in contact with a convenience store that my mum knows the owner of. The layout of the shop also works very well with my script as the fridges at the back are unable to be seen from the door, meaning that the robber would not be able to see the protagonist as he enters the shop. I went to the store when we would start filming (8pm) to allow me to see how busy it is and also the general lighting inside and out. There was nobody in the shop for the 20 minuets I was there, perfect for my shoot. However, they said they do not allow anyone to film in their chain.
你好!
我是Stanley Banbury，現於香港一所學校修讀媒體及傳播學課程。由於課程要求學生拍攝一段3分鐘的短片，我想以 Circle K便利店作為拍攝題材，希望可於4月20th, 21st日 (星期五)晚上用大約一小時在貴店鋪進行拍攝。
懇請獲得貴鋪批准。如可，請告知一個最合適的拍攝時間。十分感謝。
祝
安好,
Stanley Banbury
After asking the Circle K about using their shop, I asked a 711 as well. Similarly, they said that it is in their company policy to not allow any filming on their premises. One other thing I did was go around Kowloon Bay asking many independent convenience stores if I could film in their shop. I used the same letter as the one above but I slightly tweaked it for them. With the six of them I asked, all of them said no.
My last protocol of my search was to text a famous Hong Kong director of adverts, David Tsui. I have worked with this director on one of his adverts as work experience and created a bond with him while on the shoot for his mini-movie advert for Kee Wah Bakery. Below, are some photos I took while on set with Mr Tsui. As you can see by his reply on the left, he mentioned that with no budget you will not be able to film in such convenience stores and did not offer any alternatives. With a dead end from my last protocol, I think the best thing I can do would be to rethink my idea. I will treat this as a lesson to always think ahead when creating a short film.
Production schedule
MAY
24th
MAY
27th
Script re-write
Email actors and Actor agreement
29th
MAY
Josh
holder
I decided to use Josh Holder as my main actor as I have used him as an actor before in my past projects. I can trust him to take control of the character and put his own twist on it. Also the way Josh acts, he can turn very quickly from being the victim to being the assailant.
June
1st
Re-email crew about new dates
Stephanie
chao
manav
Shankar
notes on script
3rd
June
Click above for full screen
June
June
June
5th
Final script
5th
June
5th
5th
June
7th
Costume
Costume
June
June
Costume
Costume
June
June
Location
7th
8th
Updated production schedule
June
June
shot list
10th
12th
Equipment email
June
June
Shoot days
14th / 24th
I decided that the best thing to do would be to distribute the shooting across two days as with my short film it would be easier as the environment we were filming in was controlled so we didn't need to worry about changes in weather or lighting. One of the skills that I learnt during this process was makeup. With no prior experience and just my mum's makeup bag I think I created a realistic and believable makeup look. All of the filming went smoothly and I did not encounter any technical difficulties. My crew consisted of Manav as cinematographer and Stephanie on sound.
June
Rushes log
25th
June
Editing
25th
After creating my rushes log I started to sort out my footage and audio recordings. I put them into bins to help me keep track of the project. I was able to create a simple rough cut which just had the sounds and footage layered. The thing that I found needed the most change after editing the rough cut was the sound. After adding the sound of the device and the music that is meant to sound like it is coming out of the speaker, it did not sound like it was inside the environment I fixed this later with ProTools.
25th
Rough cut
June
Sound editing
29th
The next stage for me was to fix the sound. As much of the audio was recorded separately, I needed to make sure that it actually sounded like it was in the environment. To do this I used Pro tools. I added a reverb to make it sound like it was in the room. Also, I made changes to the panning from the left and right speaker which made the short film more immersive.
June
30th
Colour correction
June
The last step for the short film was to do the colour correction. I wanted to make a high contrast cold look. I had one layer of colour correction that stays on the whole film. This layer balances the colours. However, as sometimes the lighting on set changed slightly from warmer to colder, the temperature was not balanced throughout the whole short film. As you can see, I layered some more adjustment layers and balanced the temperature to keep it fluid through the film.