Tester Shots #1

Because our favourite idea involves a child we decided to take some tester shots before completely deciding on a narrative. Children can be hard to work with, and can struggle to portray the emotion required, so we decided to film some of our original ideas with the child we were planning on using, Esther, to see if it would work. 

After getting all of the consent necessary (as shown in this blog post) to use Esther in our production, we booked the drama studio to experiment with the shots. 

We decided to use the drama studio for location, regardless of whether we will use it for the final piece as it is a blank setting with black curtains as a background. It also has a lighting rig, so we can experiment with spotlights and low key lighting. For our final filming we will need to decide on a location, either the blank background we used here, or a large room that we can dress accordingly. We will also need to decide on Esther's costume, for this she wore her usual casual clothes, but we may want her to wear black to emphasise her restriction and lack of identity as a hostage.

Below are images of us at work, with Esther and her Mum.

We recorded numerous takes of our final shot that we have planned with Esther, to experiment with lighting and camera shots. We also experimented with the shot where Esther is playing with a doll, to see if it works to have her turn around and then back again to see the feet/face of the kidnapper. We have created the clip below analysing the shots that we took. 

Teacher Feedback 

After showing our teacher the tester shots she gave us some feedback which resulted in us altering our idea. She pointed out that the camera and ties do not add the shock factor as you know from the dialogue and the previous action that it is going to be a ransom video. We decided that something more shocking would be if a man in black went towards her at the end of the dialogue and we faded to black from his black top covering the camera. We will film the whole video on a good quality camera, but looking at the action through the flip screen on another camera (the one recording the ransom video). This will worsen the quality making it more realistic and further showing the audience what is happening.