When filming the scene in the cubicle we had to be particularly careful with the pills Adah was given to take as there were a lot of capsules which we could not allow the actress being myself to swallow as this is very dangerous. In terms of filming we had multiple ideas of how we can show Adah's death without it looking unrealistic. The main idea is to make sure Adah swallows the pills. In reality as a co-director there were many ways to go around it. First one: Film the shot with the pills in my hand, then dispose of the pills but edit the shot to where her hand is covering her mouth to show that I have swallowed the pills. Second one: Show her swallowing something with her hand over her mouth with an instant reaction so the audience knows she has taken something dangerous that could have a huge impact on her health. Overall, we decided to go for option one as the audience can get a clear idea of what she has taken and the impact it has on her. Editing Method: Jump Shot
Created using Visme. Free Online Presentation Software. The only voice heard in the film beside our main soundtrack is the voiceover. the voice over will consist of Adah's suicide note from the day of her death. This is used instead of her talking in the present moment of the shot. It helps to make the film seem more reflective and consist of her anxiety throughout. having her talk in the present moment wouldn't create the same emotion as having a voice over as the voice links to every movement and word she makes throughout the day. The voice over also helps the audience to understand her purpose of migrating and what she has gone through since. having her talk in the present moment may not be as clear and may not create as much sympathy as we would want for the character. Recording the voiceover was the last task we had before making the final touches to the film. This was because we wanted to have the shots all taken and edited correctly so that we would know exactly how long she would need and the different start and stop times in the voiceover. This meant that once it was done everything would be together and synchronise well. We recorded the voiceover on a Tascam microphone which plugs into the dock connector of your Apple device iPhone using its built in speaker. There were a number of reasons for doing this one was because we felt like recording the voice over on a computer wouldn't be as clear or loud enough and may pick up background noise. Whereas a Tascam microphone is a built in high-quality stereo microphone.The TASCAM DR-05 lets you change an audio file’s playback speed without changing the pitch. An iPhone produces a lot less static noise than most recording equipment and therefore would help to give a clearer sound which would sound a lot better in the film.Once this was done we added in into the video on Final Cut Pro and made sure that each clip matched up with the voice and that there wasn't a voiceover in any of the clips that we didn't intend to use of voiceover in. We also checked to make sure that the voiceover could be heard over the other background sounds. The downfall of this was Microphone was that we had to ensure our surrounding was extremely quiet as the Microphone picks up everything because of how high the quality is. However once we finished recording our voice over on final cut pro we were able to break down the segmentation of the script and place them into parts of the short film we felt would be most effective Voiceover : Azizah Kakou
From my perspective as the co-editor and co-director of the creative aspect of the film making it is my responsibility to ensure all actors conform to the filming schedule to make the process much easier. This process will be much easier when the actors go over the script. My co-producer and I thought it was best to have a meeting with all actors so they'll be more comfortable with each other and rehearse with each other whilst Sophia and I practice shots with the camera on them.
I had a couple students watch my co-producer and I's first draft of our short film and filmed their responses as this way an easy way to see how they would react to the segments in the short film. After this I asked them a few questions about my first draft so I know how to improve and whether the genre was clear to them.
What I understood from these students is they knew that it was based on bullying however one students said we needed to make the idea of her being an immigrant clearer by including a scene where she is at home looking at pictures or footage on why she migrated to the UK as this would make it clear to the audience from the start that she is a migrant and there is a clear reason to why. The feedback we received enabled us to improve our short film as well as display genre clearer. Created using Visme. Free Online Presentation Software.
Feedback Analysis
After listening to feedback realized the movie genre was still not as clear in the first draft, especially when one audience member thought it was a 'thriller'. In order to improve this my partner and I thought it was best to first of all add in the voiceover to make it clear that she is a migrant as well as include shots of her at home and looking at a picture of her grandmother to show her she misses her. This also follows the codes and conventions of a Docudrama as sound reflects the person and in this case the suicidal note reflects the life of Adah.
In the second audience feedback I came to realisation that once I added in the clips of when I was in Africa it showed that the short film is based on true events which made the short film much transparent to the audience.
We also felt like adding in a scene where she receives brutal messages from her bullies as this handheld point of view shot not only follows conventions of docudrama but is also footage that we felt can be used to create a reaction out of the audience in shock of the messages she has received.
People were also shocked with the ending as the majority felt like they were left on a cliff hanger. This was crucial feedback for us as the main point we aim to get across is that she end up committing suicide because of the build up depression. in order for us to convey this we added in a shot where she takes pills, however the pills she takes are not shown for Hazardarous reasons.
Improved Draft
We were faced with many challenges in our shot film, one in particular was the colour grading. our short film had shots in many locations that could be effected by lighting. in order for our short film to consist of continuity, we had to ensure the lighting in each scene adds up to the following scene. Because of the season we filmed in darkness draws in scene therefore causing some scenes to be darker than others. in order to show continuty we either adjusted the colour of the shot or re filmed it.
Colour Grading and its impact on AdahCreated using Visme. Free Online Presentation Software.
To show continuity combat was used throughout in some areas more the others such as this shot. However, my co-producer and I came to realisation the colour of the shot was wayy too harsh giving it a 1970's camera type vision. That was not what we felt was best for our short film as it would draw away tension from the storyline and make it appear unrealistic. Therefore we decided to change the color grading back to its orginally as it gave it a more simple appeal in the environment she is in.
Another major inspiration was the responses I went through in the comments from the tracks I tried and Suicide Note. These responses that were gained from the soundtrack are similar to the responses I intend to gain from the audience when they watch my short film. For the audience to be able to understand the character of Adah and her story through her suicidal note swell as the track to top it off. Ruth B.- Lost Boy The title of the song 'Lost Boy' in itself emphasises anguish and sorrow. Giving the interpretation of loneliness and confusion, which is the contrast of Adah's character in the short film. The song is suitable for a short film as it shows lyrics are vital as they tell a story too. "Run, run, lost boy, " they say to me. Away from all of reality". These lyrics already convey a story. this gave us inspiration on choosing our song wisely as we want our choice of music to render the storyline. When my co-producer and I decided to recreate this song to fit our short film we came to realisation overall it wouldn't fit in with our short film as it may overpower the voiceover and has no link to suicidal thoughts. Although the track is slow and creates an emotional atmosphere. We believed in order to push the boundaries more the lyrics must be suicidal thoughts as this links to the storyline more as well as create a deeper effect on the audience.This would encourage the audience to be more connected to the character. The title immortal is juxtaposed to the life of Adah as she cuts her life short. However the lyrics 'save me from the nothing I've become' relates to how Adah feels in her thoughts, crying out for help but no one understanding her pain. hence why my partner and I believe lyrics are virtue to the successful in terms of accurate interpretation of our short film. However, the beat of this track is faster to the others which wouldn't go well with the short film at all. This inspired us to go for a track which has a slow tempo as that would reflect Adah's growing desperation to cut her life short. Final choice of music Before my partner and I could decide on our music choices we have to decided on whether we should have both diegetic and non diegetic sound or one or the other. However, we came to a conclusion we are going to use three pieces of music only which does not include diegetic sounds as we felt like this would lose the tension our short film aims to build. We believe a voice over will have the strongest impact as the voice over will consist of a suicide note and also includes messages to her family. We believe if we break up our chosen music to create a pause where the voice over will play smoothly this will deepen the intensity of the voiceover and the story as the chosen music will reflect her life as well as add an emotional pause to the voiceover.
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AuthorAisha Isatu Jalloh Archives
March 2018
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