Account of shoot day

Friday the 28^th of January was our shoot day we planned to arrive at Courtney house for about 10 so that meant leaving about 9.30 from Hurtwood to get there on time, we made a shooting schedule of similar shots that needed shooting making it as organised as possible so we could start the minute we got to location making sure we had as much time as possible to get everything we needed and extra if possible giving us a chance to change our story bored if we felt it was necessary we got all the equipment we needed like camera, spider doll, tracks and lighting packed up in the bus and left, arriving to the location on time.  The alterations we decided to do on our storyboard added to our thriller as we tried to create a thrill for the audience, we decided to change the ending slightly making the audience want to carry on watching.

Arriving at location we took all the equipment down to the pool area setting up the appropriate things for the first shot so making sure the camera is at the right angel and that we had looked at the focus, the white balance and lighting around us. We also set up a light behind the camera as well as using the lights in the room and in the pool to make sure we get the best possible contrast from different angles.  Later on we used a tracking shot show someone coming in from outside, this shot gave us a chance to use different equipment to get a better effect through movement. The tracking shot was part of the storyboard when the swimmers dad comes in to tell her its supper but at first you don’t know who it is as we wanted a surprised moment as he stands above the water waiting for her. So with the tracking shot we tried to focus only on the legs and the girl swimming along. This built up suspense for the audience and gave an element of surprise when they find out it’s only her dad, instead of the guy who’s been watching her. This links too many thriller films now and in the pass for example like the strangers, it’s all an element of surprise and suspense for the audience.

We used as simple costume and props as possible so we could focused more on getting really good shots, but making sure everything fit in well for our story line.  We chose a training swim suit for Bethany our main character with a light blue swimming hat and goggles, this all worked well as it showed how serious she was about swimming.  Ted who played the stalker he wore jeans that were slightly ripped and a hoodie covering his face giving no identity, this gives another element of surprise to the audience when the stalker may be identified towards the end of the film. It also gave a difference to the characters and what they were both like.

We decided to use Bethany as she is a slim build, athletic so could cope with being in a pool all day and has had experience in doing swimming for a club which helps with her and doing laps.