Re-shooting the Opening Scene

Re-filming this was much more simple than the initial shoot and went very smoothly. I arrived early as my previous class had finished so I got to the location and immediately started adjusting the lighting. Unfortunately it was a very grey day so the natural light wasn't as good as I'd have hoped but I still did everything I could to let what there was in. I opened every blind in all the rooms and positioned my camera so Lucy and Alannah would be facing into the light. I also turned on the main lights to get in as much light as possible because in my previous shot there had been some noise on the wall behind them which I wanted to eradicate. I then had to adjust my white balance to incorporate both the natural and artificial light. I kept a low ISO (100) because I'd managed to let a lot of light into the set.

I then set the camera up on my tripod to get a steady, static shot.

When Lucy and Alannah arrived we went back over Alannah's lines which, luckily, she could remember from the previous week. I got them sat in the correct position, huddled in a corner connoting their vulnerability and how they'er trapped in the traumatising situation. I also kept in the blue door from the previous shot because I liked the sad, cold connotations of the colour. Once they were positioned in the shot correctly I plugged the microphone into the camera and wedged it between Alannah and Lucy's legs with it pointing at Alannah's face in order to pick up her voice. It was successfully hidden from view.

Then we did a few takes to make sure the final footage was right. I had some practices with the manual focus again to make sure the final shot was clear and I had to reintroduce my hand signals so Alannah's lines were delivered slow enough to have the effect I wanted. I also had to re-do a few shots because she kept moving her legs and I wanted everything to be very still in the shot, almost like the characters are in the eye of a storm, suspended in disbelief.
I also had Lucy put her head in her hand because this further connoted her despair at the loss of her parents.

Overall I am happy with how the re-shoot went and I felt more in control of the process the second time round as I had a better idea of how to achieve what I wanted with the shot more effectively.