With the production process, we as a group decided to create
multiple drafts of the script. We did this so that we could have a large amount
of variation. Our scripts were an adaptation of the first five minutes of Elizabeth;
the original version of Elizabeth was a ten episode series. Following the draft
completion, we shared our scripts amongst the team and provided opinions on
which were the best and what improvements needed to be made. Following this we
decided to create second drafts of the scripts we liked the most.
When we received the final draft of the chosen script, we
edited it into a shooting script. Due to crew and location restrictions we
decided to cut out the sequence in which our main character visits a school.
Unfortunately we had neither the cast nor budget to shoot a scene of this
sophistication. In response to this we had the head master tell Mason to pick
up tea bags before reaching the school. The next revision we made was to age up
the young actors in the opening scene of the show. Originally the characters
featured in the opening were far younger than they appear in the final cut.
Another change we made was to have all of the scenes be shot
during the daytime, originally we had decided to have the opening scene shot
during the night but due to actor’s schedules, we we’re unable to film at the
aforementioned point. On a technical level we decided to go for simplistic
lighting during the majority of the shoot. We used multiple DSLR cameras to
film the sequences inside the house and inside the shop. Whilst doing outdoor
shoots we only utilised one camera, as any more would be unnecessary.
During the shoot some of the dialogue had to be edited, as
it did not flow very well whilst being spoken by our actors. Following this we
modified the script’s original dialogue to fit the actor’s needs. The shoot
itself was limited to our actor’s schedules. The main actor only had the
morning for us to shoot with him, because of this we had to rush some scenes in
order to complete the shoot in a timely fashion. In retrospect I do wish I had
done more with the lighting on the shoot. Originally I had planned to use
creative lighting in all scenes, unfortunately my fellow crewmembers decided to
refuse my lighting suggestions for all scenes apart from the bedroom scene,
which in of itself was significantly compressed.
Whilst on set we we’re limited to a very small budget, due
to this we had to utilise homemade and on location props. We also had to use
our own houses for some of the scenes; unfortunately we could not afford to
build a set. Other challenges included making sure we had good quality sound
whilst on location. Whilst on location we faced the challenge of the public and
the noise they create. This noise disruption often got in the way of dialogue.
