Co-op film shooting

One of the first shots that we had planned to shoot was one which Topaz Spectre was on the top of a high building, and we were looking over her shoulder and one from the ground. We tried to think of places where it was possible to stand on top of tall buildings, and the idea of a multi storey car park in Newport Town Centre which is situated here. We checked that it would be possible for us to go up there and take some shots before we did. We also made sure that Bella would be completley safe by positioning her behind the wall on the car park, which is why in the shooting you can't see her whole body. We also ensured that she remained at least 2 metres away from the edge at all times.

Costumes - Topaz Spectre

Making of the costume:

The costume of Topaz Spectre we made mainly by hand, because we didn't really have anything already done that would suit our style. So, we found some fabric which I had down my garage, which was in both white and black, and we decided that this would be perfect for the contrasting personalities of the villian and hero. We also saw from our research that the villains were stereotypically dressed in darker colours, and the heroes were in brighter colours. So we took the white coloured material up to our art department at school, which you can see above, and folded it in half and painted a border around. We had decided that due to the superheroes name being Topaz, one of the main colours would be blue, and from our research, a lot of superheroes such as superman and [ENTER MORE] that one of the main colours of their costume was yellow. So we painted the border and also the main logo which we decided in an earlier post. [LINK] The rest of the costume was clothes which we had bought in from home, which also continued on with our colour theme, with electric blue leggings and a bright yellow top. She also had a pair of blue boxers on over the leggings, and bright stripy socks on, also continuing with the colour. The final piece of the costume was a mask, which we bought from a costume shop on the Island, and then painted on the make it stand out more. She also wore bright red lipstick and blue eyeshadow, to carry on with our feminist theme of making her even more womanly. Below is the final product of our costume.

Superhero logo

Crane shots

Before we took any shots in the crane, we had a risk assessment made especially for when we went up to ensure that whoever went up in the crane would be completely safe. 

Crane

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 Once we had had that done me and Tayler had to decide when the best time to do the crane shooting would be. Since we are now getting into the winter season by the time this planning had taken place, we decided that it would be best for us to take the shots very early in the morning, when the light would be best. We checked the weather on metcheck to make the chances of rain slimmer. We settled on an early Saturday morning before we both had work. It was decided that I would be going up in the crane and be taking shoots, and Tayler would be remaining on the ground. We arrived at the crane site, which was here at 7:30, ready for imminant shooting. This is what the crane looked like before I went up in it:

In total the crane height was 120 feet into the sky. I was wearing a harness the whole time that I was in the air for extra protection. I had a neck strap round my camera which was on my neck at all times, and I also had a walkie talkie to communicate with Andy, who was driving the crane, so I could tell him when I wanted to come down or if I needed any help. This was what I went up in:

Time Schedule

Panning shots

This is the filming of me in the crane. The opening shots are of me moving upwards in the crane, and the closing shots are of me going down. The shooting is a little wobbly due to a lack of tripod, and of course because I was haning in a cage. I think that this shooting location worked really well, as you can see for miles and miles, giving the illusion that this is all where the film will be set. I also think that due to the circumstances the movement is quite smooth, and it does look like we used a tripod. I like how you can see the cars moving along the roads in the distance, as it makes the whole shot look a lot more real.

Auditioning the actresses.

We decided from the beginning that we needed a good team of actors on board to make our film the best it could possibly could. After thinking about all of the people we could possibly get to act in our teaser trailer we came down to two actresses. We decided that we would create a little audition for them both to ensure we made the right decision. Here is a list of the pros and cons for both of the actresses we had in mind to choose the actress for Georgia Murphy/Topaz Spectre.

Bella:
Pros                                                                                           Cons
Attended the New York Conservatory for                                Holidaying at time of shooting
Dramatic Arts (NYCDA)
More available for shooting

Eloise:
Pros                                                                                             Cons
On the Island throughout shooting process                                 More outside commitments

We then made this decision to roll with Bella because although she was away at times we thought that her previous experience made her more suitable for the part.