It’s been a long time since I made an entry.\u00a0 I think the hiaitus is due to the finishing of the filming, the sigh of relief, and then\u00a0a short holiday period and back to teaching. \u00a0So now, I’m going to have to make an entry which relies rather heavily on my memory…<\/p>\n
When we finished the film, we found ourselves almost in the same position as if we’d actually shot on celluloid.\u00a0 The rushes – on digibeta, and on hi-def couldn’t all be viewed because the digibeta player\/recorder was broken, as was the camera.\u00a0 We hired a\u00a0digibeta and transferred all the tapes to minidv and to VHS, and this took a few days, at the end of August.<\/p>\n
On looking at the rushes,\u00a0I loved the acting,\u00a0cinematography, and locations, but\u00a0became hyper aware of all my mistakes in timing and coverage.\u00a0\u00a0Particular problems were about the lack of time to plan multiscreen ways of shooting\u00a0Echo following Narcissus (sc 25) and the complete lack of Sc 14, the chase\u00a0by Hera of Zeus and the nymph.\u00a0 This was lucky in a way, as it meant we really had to do pick ups, and as I wanted to\u00a0do them anyway, it meant we had a bit of an advantage.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u00a0So, the pickups became\u00a0Sc 14, including\u00a0shooting some more cutaways of Hera, so we could have her on a different screen, chasing around on the dunes, and turning the nymph into a chicken.\u00a0 This also proved traumatic as the chicken was still unavailable, wishful thinking that finding a chicken would be relatively easy, and it falling outside any particular person’s responsibility.\u00a0 However, we’ve now decided to make the chicken animated, thus pushing the problem down the line, and hoping it will be solved more easily.<\/p>\n
\u00a0We also reshot Amenias dying, giving him a decent close-up, and were also worried about this, as he’d had a brutal haircut between the first shoot and the pickups.\u00a0 However, this was less severe\u00a0than we first thought, and we were able to shoot the pickups easily.\u00a0\u00a0 It’s an interesting point that the things we thought were problems turned out not to be, but other things turned out to be problems.\u00a0\u00a0 Anyway, in his master\u00a0shot he had moved very quickly and not given a reaction which could be caught, and we therefore shot a better reaction, and also two versions of him lying on the ground, (we\u00a0needed an alternative, as the master shot had\u00a0his head facing away from camera).<\/p>\n
\u00a0We then picked up some\u00a0cutaways,\u00a0narcissi at the pond, and some backgrounds for Tiresias.\u00a0 These, I assumed were just beginning shots, to be developed and expanded on later, when the film was cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0The issue with pickups is really that we didn’t have the money\/time to cut the film in advance of the pickups, so we can’t be completist about what we need to shoot.\u00a0 I fully expect that we’ll need to come back after the edit, and make some final adjustments, but whether we have the money, cast and crew by then is doubtful.<\/p>\n
There seems to be\u00a0a fight between the need to be extremely organised for a film shoot which requires money and scheduling – although never enough money or time – and the need to find out and explore how the film is working.\u00a0 This is independent of time and money and happens when it happens.\u00a0 Here experience is the key and planning for the unforeseen.\u00a0 On our budget we can’t really budget for pickups and keeping actors on contract, but we still need this facility.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s been a long time since I made an entry.\u00a0 I think the hiaitus is due to the finishing of the filming, the sigh of relief, and then\u00a0a short holiday period and back to teaching. \u00a0So now, I’m going to have to make an entry which relies rather heavily on my memory… When we finished … <\/p>\n