Production Day 3
On day 3, we faced delays still as the boardroom was being used by the school for important meetings, and showed no sign of becoming free during our working hours. We relocated to the art room of our school but struggled to find a surface that didn't show wear and tear from being used by students. With the help of our custodial staff, we obtained a sheet to cover the paint-stained table and requested a chess set from our sports teacher, who happily obliged. By making use of the resources and props available to us in a school environment, we were able to stay within our set budget and eliminate waste.
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Our shooting commenced with taking a multitude of shots from varying angles and distances with the aim of creating a 'transition in camera' which moved smoothly from a close-up shot of Huza to a close-up shot of Zahra, another student engaged in shooting specifically the chess scene.
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We had noticed a large mirror in the art room, and were inspired to incorporate it in our work there. A stool was used to prop up the mirror to face Huza, and in the meantime I adjusted the position of my camera so I would be able to gather the desired shots without my camera itself being visible. The 'shifting focus' feature within my camera allowed me to shift the focus from Zahra speaking to Huza in front of the mirror, which subsequently represented the shift in perspective and narrative.
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Following this, we proceeded to capture the scene where the protagonist receives the news of her ruin. This was undertaken in an empty room with little to no props, causing us to use a sunset lamp to create dimension and interest within the scene. Observing that the sunset lamp was not adequate for highlighting her features, we utilized her phone screen to make up the difference. By opening up a picture of bright white color combined with the screen set to full brightness, her face was lit up the exact amount we wished for.
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Lastly, on our final day of filming, we were left with shooting the scenes where Huza's lip-syncing is projected on a large screen. This was undertaken by first transferring the clips of her lip-syncing (shot on day 2) to a laptop, where they could be color graded to black and white, furthering the intensity of the scene and helping to convey that this character is now deceased. Additionally, I added an effect of flecks across the projection, which are commonly found in old film reels, with the intent of reflecting that the video is from a previous time, and the protagonist has not been around for some time.
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Once the editing was complete, I enlisted the help of an IT professional from our school to project the video on a large screen in the auditorium. Upon doing so, I found that I greatly disliked the look of the video played on the screen, and would have to employ my projection idea elsewhere.
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My first order of business was obtaining a different location for shooting, so I requested the permission of Miss Amber to use the multimedia room, feeling it would be the best fit for my new vision. The custodial staff yet again provided me with a white sheet, which I hung on the wall in a room in the multimedia room with access to a projector and ceiling fans. By turning the fans to an appropriate speed, the sheet fluttered as the projection played across it, adding the element of movement. Unfortunately, right after filming the last scene involving projection, my camera fell off a high surface and the lens broke, subsequently ruining the display.
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